Bielsa hails ‘complete player’ Mateusz Klich, thinks Adam Forshaw is very similar

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Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa has hailed both Mateusz Klich and Adam Forshaw.

Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa has told Leeds Live that he thinks midfielder Mateusz Klich is a complete player, and believes Adam Forshaw is very similar.

The Whites lost a Championship game for the first time under Bielsa on Saturday afternoon, as Birmingham City left Elland Road with a 2-1 victory; their first league win of the season.

After such an impressive start to last season was brought crashing down with one defeat, some are worried about history repeating itself ahead of Friday’s trip to face Sheffield Wednesday.

It seems unlikely that Bielsa would allow that to happen, and he will be handed a major boost ahead of that trip to Hillsborough with the full return to Adam Forshaw.

The midfielder picked up a significant injury in pre-season, and was only able to make his first appearance of the season against Millwall earlier this month, and has been building himself back up with three successive substitutes appearances.

Forshaw will now be hoping to start against Wednesday, and Bielsa has been discussing just where he thinks the former Middlesbrough man could fit into his 4-1-4-1 system.

Bielsa has told Leeds Live that he think Forshaw can play in Mateusz Klich’s central midfield role, operating almost as an ‘8’, getting up to support the attack but also being very wary of defensive duties.

Bielsa noted that Klich is a ‘complete player’, and feels Forshaw is just like him – but they are not players who can conjure moments of individual brilliance like Samu Saiz, but more a player who thrives with teamwork.

“Forshaw can play as Klich and Klich can play as Forshaw does,” said Bielsa. “Klich is a complete player, he can play in each level of the pitch, in defence he attacks, he can play in the axis and in the sides. Forshaw is the same kind of player. He’s very dynamic, he’s flexible. When he has to build offensive responses he is as implicated as when he has to build defensive ones. Their physical capacity are very important.”

“They are not players that can make a difference by themselves. They make the difference associated with their team-mates. They can’t do what Samu Saiz does, the only player who can do what he does is himself. They all midfielders, but Forshaw and Klich are different to Saiz,” he added.