Pablo Hernandez’s contract is Leeds’ best bit of business this year

Follow us on Google Discover

Leeds United managed to agree a contract extension with Pablo Hernandez ahead of the summer.

With Barry Douglas the only summer signing to feature in Leeds’ side in the early stages of this season, it is too soon to know for certain whether the most recent window will be reflected upon as a success or not.

The likes of Jamal Blackman, Lewis Baker and Patrick Bamford have had to bide their time so far with Marcelo Bielsa’s side flying high in the Championship with many of the same players that featured prominently last season.

And given that it is too soon to assess many of the new signings due to how little they have played, it is surely fair to suggest that the best piece of business that Leeds have done all year is actually the contract extension that was agreed with Pablo Hernandez.

Heading into the summer, it appeared to be a very real possibility that the Spaniard would leave Elland Road. The Daily Mirror (18/03; page 65) reported that Garry Monk was hoping to sign Hernandez for Birmingham City as his contract ran down.

With Hernandez Leeds’ best player for much of last season and certainly their best-performing during their dreadful second-half of the campaign, it frustrated the fans for several weeks that the club were not able to agree a new contract with the playmaker, especially as it was Monk who was looking at offering the 33-year-old a fresh challenge.

However, the Yorkshire Evening Post reported in April that Hernandez had agreed a new two-year deal. And based on his start to this season, it appears to have been a fantastic piece of business from the Whites.

The former Swansea ace has already scored three goals, including the equaliser at Swansea last week and a stunning third at Norwich on Saturday, and provided two assists in the emphatic win at Derby County.

He is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down at an age where many professionals struggle to prove that their best days are not behind them, and if Leeds are going to finish amongst the top six this season, you would imagine that Hernandez will have continued to play an absolutely vital role.

And based on what he is currently showing, if Leeds do manage to go all the way and get promoted, it would surely be a major mistake to write the winger off proving a key man for the Whites at the highest level also.