Marcelo Bielsa has rarely got anything wrong at Leeds United.
The man once hailed as the best coach in the world has largely lived up to his billing at Elland Road, taking United from a 13th place finish to genuine promotion contenders in his first season in charge, and he’s looking likely to seal the Whites’ return to the Premier League this term as they sit second with just 10 games to go.
However, there is one decision the Argentine made that is looking more and more like a blunder each passing week.
Of course, we’re talking about his treatment of Eddie Nketiah.
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For one reason or another, the Argentine was reluctant to play the striker during his loan spell at Elland Road, starting him just twice.
In the end, Nketiah and Arsenal were fed up of his lack of action and they decided to cut his loan spell short.
Since then, he’s become quite an important player for the Gunners, and his stats during this time show that Bielsa made a massive mistake in not treating him better.
Anyone who watched Nketiah at Leeds won’t be surprised to see him scoring goals.
The striker netted at a rate of one league goal every 166.66 minutes at Leeds, and somehow he’s actually improved on that at Arsenal.
Indeed, three goals in 372 minutes is a ratio of one goal every 124 minutes, showing Leeds exactly what they’re missing out on.
However, playing as a striker in Bielsa’s system is about a lot more than scoring goals, as defending from the front and linking up the play.
Indeed, fans have previously praised Patrick Bamford for his pressing intensity, but it seems as though Nketiah also has that in his locker.
The 20-year-old has attempted 2.3 tackles per 90 minutes in league action since his return to the Emirates and has also made 0.5 interceptions per 90, both stats trumping Bamford’s returns.
It seems as though Bielsa got this one wildly wrong. Nketiah is now showing what he can do on the biggest stages, be that in the Premier League or in the latter rounds of the FA Cup, and United could have done with a player of his calibre in the second half of the season.
In other news, Leeds’ striker conundrum will become even more complicated after promotion.