Marcelo Bielsa’s Championship table-toppers Leeds United reportedly want West Ham United’s Charlton Athletic loanee Josh Cullen.
If you want a basic understanding of Marcelo Bielsa’s famously free-flowing tactics, the make-up of Leeds United’s midfield should offer a rather useful clue about the Argentine’s insight.
In Mateusz Klich, Kalvin Phillips, Stuart Dallas and even the crocked Adam Forshaw, every midfielder at the Whites’ disposal not only possesses a fine passing range but also works relentless off the ball to asphyxiate the opposition for 90, sweat-shedding minutes.
It’s a style that Josh Cullen would not struggle adapting to.
According to the Mail, the Championship league-leaders have identified West Ham United’s Ireland international as a top summer target. And his all-action performances on loan at Charlton Athletic offer an indication as to why.
Cullen has completed an impressive 83 per cent of his passes under Lee Bowyer at the Valley while averaging almost two successful tackles every 90 minutes. Clearly, the 22-year-old is as effective off the ball as he is on it.
However, a blend of technique and tenacity is exactly what you might expect from a man who grew up watching the legendary duo of Xavi and Andres Iniesta dominate even the very best as part of that era-defining Barcelona side.
“I wouldn’t say I just have one footballing hero but the two players I grew up idolising was the pairing of Xavi and Iniesta for Barcelona and Spain,” Cullen told DT38.
“The technique and the intelligence they played the game with was unbelievable and it was a pleasure to watch and try to learn from them in the great teams they played in.”
Clearly, Cullen is a man who understands how effective possession football can be when it is at it’s most controlled, it’s most relentlessly ferocious. He already has something in common with Bielsa, it seems.
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