Does Leeds’ new system improve Madger Gomes’ first-team hopes?

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Leeds United played a new system when they faced Bristol City in the Championship on Saturday.

Perhaps one of the more intriguing signings that Leeds made over a hectic summer at Elland Road was the acquisition of Madger Gomes, as he signed a three-year deal (via Daily Mail) shortly after being released by Liverpool, for whom he had failed to break into the first-team.

Leeds fans have had a brief glimpse of the 20-year-old in the first-team this term, as he has started once and made a substitute appearance in the Carabao Cup so far this season.

Gomes has predominantly had to settle for minutes for the under-23s since his arrival, but perhaps recent events just hint that the Spaniard may be in line to start receiving more chances.

Thomas Christiansen’s men ended a run of three consecutive defeats in emphatic fashion at the weekend as they beat Bristol City 3-0 at Ashton Gate to move themselves up to fourth in the Championship.

The game saw Christiansen adopt a slightly different system that involved Ronaldo Vieira, Kalvin Phillips and Eunan O’Kane all playing from the start.

Should Christiansen stick with that system – and he undoubtedly should if they play as they did at the weekend on a regular basis – the Leeds boss may need to consider extending the pecking order, with Mateusz Klich the only other central midfielder who has been regularly seen in the matchday squads this season.

Vurnon Anita, of course, can play in the middle but has primarily been used at left-back since arriving in the summer, so perhaps that leaves the path to the first-team slightly clearer for Gomes.

The youngster has looked bright for the under-23s and scored in the defeat to their Huddersfield counterparts on Monday, so is certainly putting a good case forward to be considered for more first-team chances.

And with Christiansen seemingly now turning to a system that sees three centre-midfielders used, perhaps it would not be out of the question to suggest that Gomes may not be too far away from making his Championship debut if the Bristol City win is a sign of things to come.