Mateusz Klich swapped Eredivisie team FC Twente for Championship giants Leeds United in the summer, but then barely featured.
Is it possible that a strained relationship with head coach Thomas Christiansen was the reason why Mateusz Klich rapidly became Leeds United’s forgotten man?
Big things were expected of the Polish international midfielder when he arrived at Elland Road from FC Twente last summer for around £1.5 million, becoming the first new signing in the reign of director of football Victor Orta.
But, like so many of Orta’s other additions, Klich struggled to make an impression in the Championship. And, after making a costly error in a 3-1 defeat to Cardiff City in September, he only played 21 more minutes of league football under Christiansen before returning to Holland on loan with Utrecht in January.
“Of the matches I have played, I know that I can handle the level of the Championship,” Klich, who has already played more minutes for Utrecht than he did in six months at Leeds, told De Stentor:
“I did not have a good relationship with the coach, Thomas Christiansen. It’s only frustrating when you know you can handle the level, but do not get a chance to show it.”
Maybe Klich left at the worst possible time. Because, just over a week after he returned to the Eredivisie on loan, Christiansen was sacked and replaced in the dugout by the former Barnsley boss Paul Heckingbottom.
There is a clean sheet for everyone under the new regime and Klich will be hoping that he will return to Elland Road in the summer to be handed a fresh start.
Although Leeds fans seem divided on whether or not he deserves one:
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