Marcelo Bielsa has waxed-lyrical about Niall Huggins and how he is someone who can ‘play with ease’ in various positions, as he told Leeds Live.
The 20-year-old made his debut for Leeds last month when he was brought on as a substitute during his side’s defeat at Arsenal.
Huggins has been in several matchday squads since and has even gone into Wales’ U21 squad.
It seems as though Bielsa is moulding a conveyor belt of players who can play in various positions and Huggins is no different.
“He can play as a full-back in the back-four on the left-hand side or on the right-hand side,” said Bielsa. “Or as a midfielder accompanying a more defensive midfielder.
“He can play with ease on both sides, left or right. Originally he was a winger/offensive midfielder.
“This gives him more resources during the possession and he can play in all three heights of the pitch. Apart from that, he is a player with a physical performance above the norm.”
In recent years, Leeds have produced many top-quality academy players from Fabian Delph, Lewis Cook, Jack Clarke, Charlie Taylor and Ronaldo Vieira, to name a few.
But they were all moved on because Leeds were a Championship club and those in more powerful positions came knocking, or the Whites simply needed the money.
Now, things are different. Leeds have Premier League status and it will be interesting to see how their next crop of rising stars react to being in a bigger spotlight compared to the many talented lads that passed before them.
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