Marcelo Bielsa may have only have been at Leeds for three-and-a-half years, but it’s fair to say that he’s transformed the club in that time.
He’s taken the Whites from being second-tier strugglers to a mid-table Premier League team, and while he’s done that largely by implementing a ridiculously exciting and effective style of play, he’s also overseen a hefty turnover of playing staff.
Now, Leeds are about to head into their first game without Bielsa in almost four years, and perhaps the best way to judge how far the team has come is to look at their last starting XI without the Argentine at the helm.
This was Paul Heckingbottom’s last league XI, and there’s a lot to unpack here.
Firstly, we have to acknowledge that some of these players are still regulars at Elland Road. Liam Cooper, Luke Ayling, Kalvin Phillips and Adam Forshaw remain as a part of the core of this squad to this day.
However, there are some names in here that seem utterly alien to the current Leeds crop.
A 20-year-old Tom Pearce started at left-back in this game, he now plays for Wigan in League One, while Bailey Peacock-Farrell is also a League One player with Sheffield Wednesday at the moment.
Ronaldo Vieira was seen as the next big thing for Leeds back in 2018, but this would be his final game for Leeds as he would eventually join Sampdoria in the summer.
Vieira is still playing in Serie A, as is Caleb Ekuban who started up top in this 2-0 win against QPR.
Kemar Roofe and Ezgjan Alioski joined Ekuban in the frontline on this day, starting as inverted wingers in this victory.
This game would eventually end 2-0 to Leeds, with Kemar Roofe opening the scoring, and perhaps fittingly, Kalvin Phillips was the last player to score a goal for Leeds without Bielsa in the dugout.
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