It appears that Marcelo Bielsa has no plans to include Pawel Cibicki in his Leeds United plans anytime soon.
Marcelo Bielsa made a surprising admission ahead of Leeds’ game with Millwall last weekend when he suggested that he was ready to let Mateusz Klich leave Elland Road in the summer before circumstances allowed the Pole to prove himself to the Whites boss (via Leeds Live).
Bielsa has shown that he is a footballing genius on plenty of occasions since arriving in the Championship, but his comments on Klich suggest that he may have been a little fortunate to uncover a player who has since been outstanding during Leeds’ promotion bid.
In fact, Klich’s season has probably taken everyone by surprise. Even those who felt he deserved another chance could not have imagined that he would score eight goals and contribute seven assists this term after a difficult first year where a superb performance away at Burnley was the one standout highlight.
Klich was treated badly during his first season at Leeds. And one player who also endured a difficult campaign last year was Pawel Cibicki, who played just seven times in the league.
Like Klich, Cibicki offered nothing more than a glimpse of his quality. He was excellent away at QPR and provided the decisive assist against Norwich. But few fans had any complaints when he left on loan last summer, and went out again in January.
It would be a surprise if the 25-year-old played for Leeds again. But the forward told Expressen this week that he still thinks about the possibility of playing for the Whites once more even though Elfsborg have the option to make his six-month loan a permanent deal.
And perhaps his comments should tempt Bielsa to reassess Cibicki’s future if he returns to Thorp Arch in the summer. Of course, if Bielsa remains adamant that the Swede still has no part to play in his plans or if Cibicki does not hit the ground running, then letting him go makes complete sense.
But given the potential that the former Malmo ace showed earlier in his career, perhaps Bielsa should consider handing Cibicki one final chance to prove that he can bring something to the table at Elland Road.
Bielsa conceded that he almost made a mistake by letting Klich go in the summer. Cibicki would have to do so much more to prove that he also deserves another chance, but perhaps his comments on potentially returning to Leeds should leave Bielsa wondering whether he should have another look at the forward before making a definitive decision on his future.
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