Marcelo Bielsa may be weighing up whether to bring Kalvin Phillips back in for Leeds United’s next Championship game.
One of the main talking points coming from Leeds’ defeat to Brentford was Marcelo Bielsa’s decision to leave Kalvin Phillips out of the starting lineup at Griffin Park having taken him off at half-time in the loss to Wigan at Elland Road.
Phillips has been one of Leeds’ best players this season, and it is difficult to argue against the idea that he features in the most important role in Bielsa’s system as he superbly links the defence with the players further up the pitch.
Leeds were extremely disappointing against the Bees. And while Phillips may have made the visitors harder to break down, his presence may not have changed too much. It would be fair to say that Patrick Bamford getting the first-half penalty he deserved would have probably had a bigger impact on changing how the game played out.
In fairness, Adam Forshaw did not seem to play that badly. Apart from an outstanding performance in the home win against Derby shortly after the turn of the year, the former Middlesbrough man has somewhat struggled to step into Phillips’ shoes. But he was arguably one of Leeds’ better performers against Thomas Frank’s side.
It would not be a huge surprise if Bielsa decided to keep Forshaw in the side for Sunday’s game against Aston Villa. Phillips has been one of only a handful of players to be taken out of the team for a reason other than injury, which seems to say a lot about how reluctant Bielsa is to make changes unless he has to.
But perhaps there is an argument to suggest that Bielsa should bring Phillips back in against Villa while also keeping Forshaw in the side.
Mateusz Klich has been one of the surprises of the season. The Poland international was outstanding during the first-half of the campaign, with his form proving to be one of the key reasons why Leeds have been amongst the pace-setters all season.
Klich got his chance at the start of the campaign because of an injury to Forshaw, so perhaps Bielsa should think about resting the former on Sunday and picking Forshaw in that midfield two alongside Tyler Roberts, with Phillips returning to his position in front of the defence.
It is potentially a gamble, but Leeds could have their automatic-promotion hopes virtually dashed by the time they next play. If that is the case, then giving Klich a rest could make a huge difference ahead of the play-offs.
Plenty of fans think that Forshaw is better suited to a more advanced role, rather than the one that Phillips plays so brilliantly. So Bielsa reshuffling his options this weekend may not only be a good way to freshen things up after such a disappointing Easter, but perhaps it may highlight how many options Leeds have heading into the biggest month in 15 years for the club.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
