Leeds United’s season is pretty much done and dusted.
The Whites aren’t going down and they’re not going to qualify for Europe, and with three games to go, Marcelo Bielsa has a great chance to experiment with his squad.
The temptation will be there for Bielsa to hand chances to some of the youngsters that have been so successful at U23 level this season, but in our view, there is a veteran player who deserves a chance between now and the end of the season.
Indeed, we think that Bielsa has to be considering giving Gaetano Berardi a run-out in the coming weeks.
Berardi hasn’t played for Leeds since last summer when he picked up an injury against Derby, and by the time this weekend rolls around that will be 43 weeks ago.
Leeds renewed his contract after his ACL injury as a sign of goodwill and to stick by a player who has been such a good servant to them, but he’s not played all season.
Leeds have three games to go against three sides that have been really struggling as of late in the shape of Burnley, Southampton and West Brom, and while Berardi may not have been deemed good enough to play at times this season, you’d have to think that he’d be able to cope with these dead-rubber games against relatively poor opposition.
Fans will be back in grounds soon and with Berardi being such a fan-favourite at Elland Road for years, we can’t think of many players who deserve the chance to play in front of the Leeds supporters when they return.
Berardi’s contract will once again be up in the summer, so it’s entirely possible that these next three games will be his final opportunities to play for a club he has served for almost a decade.
Should Berardi be in the team on merit? Probably not, but with the season all-but-over, Bielsa should hand one of his most loyal servants a final chance to turn out for Leeds and play in front of a fanbase that have such a strong affinity with him.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
