Marcelo Bielsa should consider recalling Pablo Hernandez at Leeds – Our View

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Leeds United lost to Everton on Wednesday evening, in what was a rather flat performance from the Whites.

The Yorkshire outfit had moments of brilliance, and they looked dangerous when counter-attacking down the flanks, but a lack of creativity in the midfield saw them struggle to create chances fo Patrick Bamford, who only had one shot on target all game.

Mateusz Klich was recalled into the starting XI after Rodrigo’s injury, and unfortunately, the Poland international blew his shot.

He didn’t make a single key pass, and his usual steely defensive contributions also weren’t there as he made no tackles, interceptions or blocks.

Klich was asked to play in a more advanced role after Rodrigo’s injury left Leeds without their first-choice number 10, but it looked clear against Everton that Klich isn’t the man for the job.

Now, that’s not to say Klich is a bad player. After all, he’s been one of Bielsa’s most important midfielders for the past three years, and when he plays as more of a number eight rather than as a number 10, he’s excellent.

However, playing him as more of an attacking midfielder is putting a square peg in a round hole, Klich is great at creating chances from deep crafting five league assists already this season, but he doesn’t have the flair or the ability to create something out of nothing required of someone playing this role.

Luckily, Leeds have a player in their squad who does have that ability.

Of course, we’re talking about Pablo Hernandez.

The Spaniard may be heading towards the twilight of his career, but he’s still as dangerous as ever, crafting two assists in just 275 minutes of league action this term, averaging one every 137.5.

Klich doesn’t need to be dropped for Hernandez to come in, a reshuffle that sees Stuart Dallas move back to left-back and Klich move into his preferred deeper role would work, and we actually saw Leeds line up like that quite a lot last season.

If the Whites are to rediscover a creative spark in the middle of the park while Rodrigo is on the sidelines, Hernandez is the man to turn to.

It’s unknown how long Rodrigo will be out for, but the fact that he had to have a scan on his groin and he missed the Everton game doesn’t bode well for the Spaniard.

If Rodrigo’s injury keeps him out for the next few weeks, Bielsa should seriously consider recalling Hernandez into the starting XI after not starting a game since early November.