Eddie Nketiah produced an outstanding cameo after making his first Championship appearance for Leeds United on Wednesday night.
One of the biggest cheers to reverberate around Elland Road during the first three-quarters of Leeds’ clash with Brentford on Wednesday came when substitute Eddie Nketiah was summoned back to the bench to get ready to come on for his Championship debut.
The Whites had dominated for much of the game against Thomas Frank’s men, but struggled to create too many clear-cut chances and the supporters would have been forgiven for wondering if the fixture was going to fizzle out and end in an underwhelming goalless draw.
But Nketiah’s introduction sparked everything into life once again. Within moments of coming on, the Arsenal loanee had latched onto a poor Brentford pass and produced a run into the box that led to an effort on goal.
The appetite had been whetted and within four minutes of coming on, the striker had converted the chance that would send Leeds back to the top of the Championship.
There were a number of pivotal moments that led to Nketiah getting the chance to roll the ball into an empty net from a couple of yards: the referee having none of the theatrical fall from one Brentford player as Gaetano Berardi regained possession, the perfectly-weighted pass from Mateusz Klich that played in Helder Costa, Costa’s brilliantly-timed assist for Nketiah, Nketiah’s excellent movement, and even Patrick Bamford’s run towards the near post as Costa broke into the box that gave Nketiah even more time and space.
But understandably, all the fans wanted to talk about was Nketiah and how Marcelo Bielsa gets him into the side for the weekend’s trip to Stoke City.
It would not be a big surprise if Nketiah’s name was included in the starting lineup when the teams are announced at the bet365 Stadium, but perhaps, it should also not be a major shock if the youngster finds himself waiting a little longer for that first league start.
Nketiah was so electric after coming on, and will be in the starting lineup sooner rather than later. But perhaps Bielsa may be tempted to deploy a similar strategy against the Potters, with Bamford starting the game and Nketiah potentially coming on to cause all sorts of problems when Stoke’s defence tires.
Bamford remains Leeds’ top goalscorer and continues to do a lot of good work for the team. Bielsa’s loyalty to those who have the shirt would perhaps hint that he would get the chance to keep his starting spot for the time-being, especially with Leeds securing another win.
Nketiah is undoubtedly breathing down his neck and appears to have the potential to make a devastating impact should he start this weekend. But perhaps, Bielsa will want to keep him as the ace up his sleeve this time around after he produced one of the most memorable cameos Leeds fans have been treated to for some time.
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