Are Leeds United missing a trick by not using Ryan Edmondson?
Noel Whelan has called on Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa to bring Ryan Edmondson back into the fold for Championship games.
The Whites slumped to a 1-0 defeat away to QPR on Saturday to make their promotion bid that bit more jittery.
Leeds stay second and still boast a four-point cushion in the automatic promotion spots, but that advantage looked a lot more comfortable only a couple of weeks ago.
It remains to be seen whether Bielsa signs a striker to replace Eddie Nketiah, who was recalled by parent club Arsenal earlier this month.
Patrick Bamford is the Whites’ only recognised centre-forward and there had been suggestions that the Argentine would bring 18-year-old hitman Edmondson back into the senior set-up.
But there was no sign of Edmondson – who hasn’t played under Bielsa since September of 2018 – in the squad that travelled to Loftus Road yesterday.
And former United marksman Whelan told BBC Radio Leeds on Saturday that he would’ve liked to have seen the Under-23 star make the trip to London.
He said: “Personally I’d have liked to have had Edmondson and gone, you know what, instead of taking off a wide man, let’s bang on a centre forward and go two up front. It’s all we’ve got.”
Is Whelan right? Well, he’s right in saying that Leeds definitely need an alternative for Bamford, but Bielsa is long enough in football to know when players are ready and when they’re not.
And considering he hasn’t recalled Edmondson, it has to be assumed that Bielsa feels he wouldn’t add much and the veteran coach has to be trusted for that analysis.
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