Chris Hamill featured on the latest episode of Sunday Vibes where the panel graded each of the Premier League managers for their performances so far in the 2020/21 season.
Leeds United have impressed many this season, with Marcelo Bielsa’s side sitting in 12th place with a game in hand on 11th-placed Crystal Palace (via Premier League).
Hamill showed particular admiration for United’s defender, Liam Cooper, who he believes has been one of their biggest surprises this season.
He said: “The hallmark of a great coach – taking someone like Liam Cooper, who started centre-half for them, who was kind of festering in the Championship beforehand, and when you watch Leeds play, seeing the improvement in someone like him is astounding.
“I remember watching the Leeds doc on Amazon, and him being like, the only change I wish for in my football career was to have met Marcelo Bielsa earlier.”
Cooper has made 21 appearances for Leeds this season in the Premier League alone and the 29-year-old has netted once in his 1,872 minutes on the field in the league (via Transfermarkt).
The Yorkshire side signed Cooper from Chesterfield in 2014 for a fee in the region of £700k which has proven to be a steal with the defender now a regular feature in the starting XI.
Will Bielsa sign an extension with Leeds?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts on Hamill’s comments…
The Leeds side has a lot of the players that guided them to the Premier League, with the addition of the likes of Raphinha too. Given how well the Yorkshire side are doing in the top flight it has to be a testament to Bielsa for sticking with his players who earned the right to play in the Premier League and for developing them into top-flight standard players at that – so Hamill’s comments appear to be fully justified.