Joe Wainman has urged Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa to start Lewis Bate more often in his preferred position.
Leeds and Marcelo Bielsa have had their hands tied this season when it comes to team selection given the number of injuries, and this had forced the Argentine manager to hand appearances to a handful of youngsters including Lewis Bate, who was signed over the summer.
Does Bielsa deserve more criticism?
Yes!
No!
However, there hasn’t been a boatload of chances for Bate, with only two appearances coming his way, totalling just 88 minutes of football, with one of his starts seeing him being hooked off at half time by Bielsa.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Wainman wants to see Bielsa unleash Bate a lot more often in his familiar position.
He said: “If you’re not going to bring in Harry Winks and Donny van de Beek, you have to play Lewis Bate in his preferred position when we need him [or] if Forshaw’s not fit [and] playing – because the kid’s got talent.
“He’s already further on with his development – normally under Bielsa, they spend a year in the Under-23s; he’s been pushed on that little bit further.”
TIF Thoughts on Lewis Bate’s chances at Leeds United…
When Kalvin Phillips underwent surgery last year, Bate may have seen this as his opportunity to get regular first-team action. However, just 43 minutes of Premier League football later and it appears that Bielsa still doesn’t fully trust him.
Bate will have likely joined Leeds in the summer from Chelsea and would presumably have been given assurances about a pathway into the first team, but if he’s not even going to be handed sufficient opportunities to impress on a bigger stage than the Premier League 2 division, it won’t be long until he becomes frustrated, especially when he sees the club looking to sign another central midfielder in Brenden Aaronson.
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