Could Pablo Hernandez be Bielsa’s obvious choice for Leeds captain?

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Marcelo Bielsa may perhaps wish to hand the Leeds United captaincy to another player this summer, and perhaps one candidate potentially stands out.

Amongst the questions that the Leeds fans are likely to have following Marcelo Bielsa’s first press conference since being confirmed as the Whites’ new boss is how easy it is going to be for the Argentinian to implement his tactics and strategies when he does not currently speak the same language as the majority of the squad he has in front of him.

The Argentinian needed a translator for his unveiling to the media, and with pre-season just around the corner, he is certainly going to need some help communicating with his squad during the coming months even with football said to be a universal language.

It is certainly not going to be as difficult a transition as some may make out over the coming months – especially if results do not start positively – but the 62-year-old should look to make decisions that make this period as easy as possible for him and his players.

And that should perhaps be reflected in his decision regarding who wears the captain’s armband next season. There have been several players who have been skipper during their time at Elland Road – perhaps unsurprisingly, given the turnover of head coaches at the club – but perhaps it would be least surprising if Bielsa’s preferred choice of captain was someone from a group consisting of Liam Cooper, Adam Forshaw and Pablo Hernandez.

And perhaps it would be fair to say that giving Hernandez the armband could make the most sense given that the Spaniard has performed the role before and, of course, speaks the same first language as Bielsa.

That is only a small detail, but it may help the head coach convey messages to his players at various points throughout his tenure, whether that be on the training ground, in the dressing room or out on the pitch.

Hernandez is clearly a respected member of the squad and continues to prove that he has an enormous amount of quality heading into the twilight of his career. He could play a key role in Bielsa’s favoured system, and given his leadership experience, it seems to make a lot of sense to hand him the captaincy for the coming campaign if one of the existing group is handed the role.