Marcelo Bielsa’s Championship challengers Leeds United are due to welcome Huddersfield Town to Elland Road – will Chris Willock shine again?
Chris Willock will not be short of incentives as Huddersfield Town travel to Leeds United on Saturday.
With the Terriers’ Championship status on the line, points are required and plenty of them between now and May. And where better to pick up a much-needed win than away at a bitter West Yorkshire rival dreaming of a long-awaited return to the big time.
If Huddersfield are to drag Leeds back down to earth again, the visitors will need a Benfica loanee to be at his best once again.
A man who barely kicked a ball during a forgettable spell at West Brom in the first half of the season is certainly making up for lost time since moving to the John Smith’s Stadium in January. Willock marked his full debut with a sublime individual goal against Bristol City before shining in a 4-0 thrashing of fellow strugglers Charlton Athletic last time out.
Three years after he walked away from Arsenal, leaving younger brother Joe behind, a midfielder Arsene Wenger once called a ‘very gifted player’ with rare technical gifts is finally starting to show glimpses of that dazzling potential.
And, just to add another subplot to an already intriguing Yorkshire derby clash, it feels like the perfect time to revisit Leeds’ apparent interest in a man who had represented two of Europe’s biggest clubs before his 20th birthday.
The Mirror (30 December 2017, page 64) reported that Victor Orta was interested in snapping up Willock in an era when Thomas Christiansen was sitting in the dugout, barking orders at Eunan O’Kane, Hadi Sacko and Pierre-Michel Lasogga.
Two-and-a-half years on, Willock could be about to hand Orta a reminder of his talents.
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