Adam Forshaw played for Leeds United against Nottingham Forest in the Championship at the weekend.
Forshaw started ahead of Samuel Saiz for Leeds in their Championship game against Forest at Elland Road in the Championship this past Saturday evening.
Bielsa has praised the performance of the 27-year-old midfielder – who joined the Whites from Middlesbrough in January 2018 for a transfer fee reported by BBC Sport to be worth £4.5 million.
The Leeds head coach has also explained his rather surprising decision to start the former Everton and Brentford star ahead of 27-year-old Samuel Saiz, who can operate as an attacking midfielder or as a forward.
“Very good,” Bielsa told The Yorkshire Evening Post about Forshaw’s display. “He’s a player who compared himself very well to play the game he played today.”
When asked why he decided to drop Saiz, Bielsa said: “Because I thought that the association between Forshaw and [Mateusz] Klich could give us agility in the building of offensive play.”
Stats
Forshaw played deeper than Saiz does against Forest, and the performance of the former Middlesbrough star was quite encouraging, especially in the second half.
According to WhoScored, the 27-year-old took one shot, played three passes, took 91 passes, and had a pass accuracy of 85.1%.
It was Forshaw’s first start in the Championship, and the midfielder probably did enough to retain his place in the team for the Whites’ next game.
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