Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa has told The Yorkshire Evening Post that he had doubts when he brought on Ian Poveda for Jack Harrison against Arsenal.
Harrison started for Leeds in their Premier League game against Arsenal at Elland Road on Sunday evening.
The winger, who is on loan from Manchester City, was taken off after 80 minutes and Poveda replaced him.
Bielsa has admitted that he had doubts when he made the change, but he believes that the 20-year-old winger played well in the final minutes of the match.
The Argentine told The Yorkshire Evening Post about Poveda: “In the time he played he had a lot of dynamic and he contributed a good amount.
“I doubted in making this change because Raphinha was having influence on his side but Poveda made a significant contribution.”
How did Ian Poveda play against Arsenal?
Poveda looked very lively after he came on and put in a brilliant cross for Patrick Bamford and another one for Raphinha.
According to WhoScored, the youngster, who can also operate as an attacking midfielder, took one shot which was on target, played one key pass, had a pass accuracy of 60%, took nine touches, made one tackle, and put in two crosses.
While it is unlikely that Poveda will start regularly for Leeds in the coming weeks, his cameo performance against Arsenal showed that he can do a job coming on as a substitute in the second half of matches.
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