Leeds United have added a striker and winger to their squad this month following the departures of Eddie Nketiah and Jack Clarke.
Marcelo Bielsa has compared Leeds’ new recruit, Ian Poveda, to a familiar face in Helder Costa, as he praised the January signing and the qualities he has in his locker.
The Leeds boss claimed that Poveda, 19, who joined from Premier League champions Manchester City [LUFC’s official website], has the ability to ‘play on both sides’ and is a ‘fast’ player who has a ‘switch of pace’ and is ‘so similar to Costa’.
Well, Leeds fans will be hoping their new winger will be able to have more of an impact than Costa, who has had an indifferent start since his loan move from Wolves to Elland Road in the summer, which will be become permanent and could rise to £15 million, as reported by The Mirror.
Ahead of Leeds’ return to action against Millwall in the Championship tonight, Bielsa shared his thoughts on Poveda and what the fans can expect from him.
“He’s a winger, plays on both sides,” Bielsa told Leeds Live. “He can cross, he has the ability to cross and dribble. He’s a fast player with a switch of pace. He can play on both sides and he is so similar to Helder Costa.”
Poveda has in effect just replaced Jack Clarke in the matchday squad, with the Elland Road academy product being recalled from his loan spell by Tottenham Hotspur earlier on this month.
On paper, both are top-quality and emerging talents, with Clarke having that more experience because he was thrown into the limelight by Bielsa last season.
But if Poveda can have a very strong impact on this Leeds side then it’ll bode well for their promotion push because some much-needed attacking talent was needed.
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