Leeds’ Gaetano Berardi has fantastic chance to prove doubters wrong

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Leeds United defender Gaetano Berardi is perhaps the one player who has struggled to impress the supporters this season.

After four wins on the bounce to kick off the new season, the Leeds fans are understandably struggling to find reasons to be negative about the current side that Marcelo Bielsa is working with.

Bielsa’s magic appears to be rubbing off on the side straight away and the Whites now find themselves one positive result away from reaching the summit of the Championship table on Tuesday.

A number of players looked transformed in comparison with last season, and there are plenty of others threatening to head down the same path as the likes of Kemar Roofe, Mateusz Klich and arguably Samuel Saiz.

But one player who is perhaps struggling slightly more to prove that he will be a revelation this season is Gaetano Berardi, who has been used at centre-back during the opening games.

Berardi’s performances have generally not attracted criticism, but there are concerns that his experience as a full-back may see Leeds come unstuck in the middle at some stage as the Swiss has occasionally struggled to answer the questions asked of him.

With Pontus Jansson set to miss Leeds’ clash with Swansea however, Berardi now arguably has a fantastic chance to silence his doubters for the time-being given the task that awaits him at the Liberty Stadium.

Graham Potter’s men have made an extremely bright start to the campaign also, winning two and drawing one of their opening three league games. And one of their goalscorers this term is a man who could have perhaps been playing for the Whites this season had events played out differently over the summer.

The Daily Mail reported in April that Leeds were looking at trying to sign Oli McBurnie from the Swans. The links seemed to cool once Paul Heckingbottom was dismissed, but his form on loan with Barnsley during the second-half of last season may have left some supporters hoping that there was still a chance that he may arrive during the window.

Roofe’s form and Patrick Bamford’s presence in the squad makes missing out on McBurnie not seem like a particularly big deal right now, but the Scotland international will test Leeds’ defence tonight.

If Berardi comes through that test therefore, and Bielsa’s men bag themselves the result they need to move ahead of Middlesbrough in the table, then perhaps the defender will have moved one step closer to proving that he can be another player who is transformed while working under the new head coach.