Lewis Baker cameo sent message to Leeds teammate Samuel Saiz

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Lewis Baker was given another chance in Leeds United’s latest Championship clash.

For Leeds’ first summer signing, life at Elland Road has probably not exactly gone to plan with Marcelo Bielsa yet to include Lewis Baker in the starting lineup for a Championship game this season.

No player in the Whites’ squad has made more substitute appearances this term than Baker, with his cameo in Saturday’s clash with Brentford proving to be the eighth time that the midfielder has come off the bench in the league this season.

But while Baker’s loan spell may have taken a while to get going, his performance once he came on against the Bees not only suggested that he may have turned a corner, but he may also be ready to put some pressure on Samuel Saiz.

Saiz’s form this term is slightly intriguing. Anyone who has watched the Spaniard play during this campaign would probably be surprised that he is yet to score in the league and has only provided two assists. In contrast, Gjanni Alioski, who has come in for a lot of criticism in recent weeks, has scored three and contributed three assists.

Although he has put in a couple of disappointing displays, Saiz has been far from poor this season. There have been numerous occasions where the attacking midfielder has acted as the talisman and driven Leeds forward. Championship defenders are still struggling to work out how they are ever going to get the ball off him and he has still been Leeds’ most creative player.

Nevertheless, his inability to turn his impressive runs and pieces of skill into goals and assists arguably makes Baker’s bright cameo on Saturday extremely well-timed, especially with Izzy Brown still some way off making his debut.

Baker cannot expect to be pushing Saiz for a starting spot just yet, but the problems that he caused – he had two fantastic chances to score against Dean Smith’s side – arguably put a bit of pressure on Saiz for after the international break.

And if nothing else, Bielsa should be delighted that he has another player who could step into the void if Saiz is enduring a difficult day at the office. Baker’s bright display could be a turning point in his Leeds career after what may well have been a frustrating start to his Elland Road spell.