Jesse Marsch could switch up his Leeds United side ahead of Thursday’s Premier League clash to include Adam Forshaw in the starting XI.
That is according to Leeds Live journalist Beren Cross, who has been reacting to the American’s comments following their defeat at the weekend.
Should Forshaw start on Thursday?
Yes
No
Forshaw, who Transfermarkt values at £1.8m, was left out of the starting XI for the defeat against Leicester City, with Robin Koch and Mateusz Klich making up the midfield two.
However, the 48-year-old claimed Forshaw’s inability to train throughout the week was the reason he was only able to make the bench for the game against the Foxes.
Marsch said: “I spoke to Adam before the match and told him that just because the fact he wasn’t able to train throughout the week and we had a few other guys that only had modified training.”
Forshaw had been a regular in the Leeds side this season under Marcelo Bielsa with 18 appearances to his name, and Cross feels the 30-year-old could be expected to return to the XI for the game on Thursday against Aston Villa.
In response to Marsch’s comments, Cross wrote: “The rationale will be a boost for Forshaw’s chances of returning to the lineup when Aston Villa visit on Thursday night, assuming he has trained enough this week.”
TIF Thoughts on Cross’ comments…
The new Leeds manager clearly had his mind set on who he was going to play last weekend from the couple of days he had at the Thorp Arch training ground.
And on the whole, there were improvements made by the Whites, who certainly tightened up their defence to a degree in comparison to February’s displays.
However, Forshaw has become a mainstay in the Leeds XI this season and we agree with Cross in thinking the 30-year-old would be the obvious choice to make up one of the midfield two.
But given his long list of injury issues, perhaps it was a smart move by Marsch to not risk Forshaw if he had not trained fully during the week.
In other news: ‘He was exasperated’ – Graham Smyth reveals Marsch had ‘deep conversation’ with Leeds ace