Marcelo Bielsa surprised Leeds United fans last month.
The Whites boss included towering striker Jay-Roy Grot in his revised Premier League squad, despite most supporters having forgotten his very existence.
Grot has never kicked a ball for Leeds under this particular head coach, which means he hasn’t played for the club in over two years.
And if we’re honest, he never will again.
That’s because despite the 22-year-old – who stands at 6’4 – being named in the United squad, he’s injured right now.
According to Sport Nieuws in his native Holland, Grot is sidelined with a knee injury and won’t be available until the new year.
Thing is, the big forward – who scored once in 20 Championship games for Leeds during a dismal first season following a £1.5 million move from NEC – is out of contract at Elland Road in 2021.
And what has Grot achieved in West Yorkshire or during his couple of loan spells back in the Netherlands to make Director of Football Victor Orta tie him down to an extension?
Grot’s only lifeline with regards to staying at Leeds beyond next summer is recovering from his injury by January, going out on loan again and scoring bags of goals.
That’s the most realistic scenario which could lead to Orta wanting to keep him around – but it isn’t even realistic.
The problem with that scenario is even if he does get a loan in January, Grot, who scored eight league goals in a combined 55 appearances for Vitesse and VVV Venlo over the past two years, just isn’t prolific enough to make it work for him.
It seems like peanuts now, but £1.5 million wasn’t a nothing figure for Leeds back in the summer of 2017, but spending that on Grot illustrated that Orta genuinely believed in his potential.
Sadly though, it just hasn’t worked out – and it probably never will.
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