Journalist Will Jackson has criticised new Leeds United signing Marc Roca for tiring during the second half of their recent win.
The former Bayern Munich man arrived in Yorkshire this summer for an initial fee of £10m and was trusted to start in the opening game of the Whites’ new Premier League campaign.
With Leeds claiming a 2-1 win over Wolves in the end, Roca likely would have left the game feeling relatively content. However, it seems as though he hasn’t been able to escape criticism as he struggled for energy in the tight match as the game wore on.
Indeed, while speaking about the player on a LeedsLive Facebook stream, Jackson claimed that in the early stages of the second half, Roca was left ‘chasing shadows’, with opposite number Ruben Neves pulling the strings for Wolves.
He explained: “There was a real lapse [in the second half], wasn’t there? There just looked like there was no energy in the middle.
“I thought Roca looked really tired, to be quite honest, chasing shadows. Ruben Neves was pulling all the strings for Wolves, wasn’t he?”
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In the LeedsLive player ratings, Beren Cross also noted that the Spaniard ‘faded’ during the game and subsequently only awarded him a 6/10 for his efforts.
And so the journalists seem to be in agreement over the player’s display, and this is matched by manager Jesse Marsch’s actions, too, as he subbed Roca off in the 73rd minute.
Considering Leeds then scored their winner thanks to an own goal by Rayan Ait-Nouri just one minute later, you could say that the Whites got a bit of a boost when their £10m man left the pitch.
Of course, this was Roca’s debut for the club and it will likely take him some time to adjust to the speed and intensity of Premier League football. And while he did fade, he did seem to do a solid job and will hopefully kick on from here in regard to fitness and overall performance.
Hence the reason he was replaced. That is what you do when a player has given everything he has. Fool