What a rotten last 12 months it’s been for Adam Forshaw at Leeds United.
The Liverpudlian midfielder is a forgotten man at Elland Road after making only seven league appearances last season due to injury, the latest of which was September.
Yep, Forshaw, a £4.5 million signing in 2018, missed virtually the entirety of Leeds’ historic promotion-winning campaign.
It was a season to remember for the Whites, but one to forget for the former Middlesbrough midfielder – and things might be about to get worse for him.
The 28-year-old, who had hip surgery in February, is still sidelined and it remains to be seen if he’ll have much of a role to come back to when he is fit.
That’s because speculation is rife that Leeds are trying to sign Benfica talent Florentino Luis on loan [Mais Futebol], with a view to a £25 million permanent deal.
Luis is a defensive midfielder and the troubling thing for Forshaw is that so is he – and Kalvin Phillips.
When he’s fit, he might be behind Luis and Phillips – who will undoubtedly be first choice – if this rumour turns out to be true. Even if it isn’t true of Luis, but Marcelo Bielsa still wants a midfield anchor, it’s still bad news for the Englishman.
Playing very little part in Leeds’ promotion journey will hurt Forshaw, but it’s nothing compared to the pain of not having much part to play in the Premier League either.
The good news is that he can play other midfield roles, because he’s versatile, but breaking into this Leeds XI when they’re in the top flight is going to be much, much harder than getting back into it when they were in the Championship.
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