Leeds are being forced to rely on a teenager to save them on a weekly basis.
Leeds’ weekend game against Hull City proved a match too far for the Whites as their winning streak came to an end.
Once again Leeds threw on teenager Jack Clarke at half-time, as they trailed and sought to turn the game around.
Clarke was impressive, as always, but he could not quite manage to change the team’s fortunes and they fell to a 2-0 defeat.
The 17-year-old has been called on regularly by Marcelo Bielsa from the bench, almost too often.
Clarke is not deemed ready to start by Bielsa, so the manager should not have to be relying on him to save the team on a weekly basis.
Unfortunately for Leeds, two players are putting the manager in that uncomfortable position.
The ineffectiveness of two wingers, Ezgjan Alioski and Jack Harrison has meant Leeds have needed to lean on Clarke far more than they should.
Alioski has raised his game somewhat since early December, but it still is not really good enough.
Jack Harrison is on loan and he has been a disappointment. He showed glimpses of quality in the win over Blackburn but was substituted off anyway, with Bielsa feeling he could not keep it up over 90 minutes.
Against Hull he took a step backwards.
Leeds cannot rely on Clarke all season like this, meaning they have two options.
Either Alioski or Harrison significantly raise their games, or Leeds dip into the transfer market to sign a reliable, top quality winger.
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