Speaking to Leeds United’s YouTube Channel, Eddie Gray has claimed that Raphinha now looks completely different to how he did when he first joined the club.
The Leeds legend has previously commented on how the Brazilian had proven him wrong in his early days at Leeds, and now he’s saying that he looks completely transformed.
“When I look at Raphinha when he first came in, he’s a completely different player now,” Gray said.
“His work ethic is tremendous.
“There was a situation in the second half when we were attacking and it broke down and he was the first player to get a challenge in and it was 20 yards inside our half. He made up around 30 to 40 yards to get back into the defensive area.
“I don’t think you would have seen that from Raphinha at the start, no disrespect to him but I think he has bought into the way the manager wants to play.
“And I think he realises that he is making him a better all-round player.”
This is just another example of Marcelo Bielsa’s coaching taking effect.
The Argentine has an uncanny knack of getting the best out of players, and while it may take a while to do, once it comes off, it harvests spectacular results.
Raphinha had to warm the bench in his early days behind Helder Costa, but since he’s broken into the starting XI he simply hasn’t looked back.
As Gray says, he looks a completely different player to the one that arrived at Leeds this summer, and we can only hope that this remarkable trajectory continues.
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