Samuel Saiz is reportedly interested in leaving Leeds United having been unsettled since the summer.
When Leeds fans read the reports from the Yorkshire Evening Post suggesting that Samuel Saiz was unsettled at Elland Road and looking at a potential return to Spain, they may well have felt an initial sense of panic.
Everything appears to be going well for Leeds right now. Marcelo Bielsa has dealt with more injuries than most managers have to cope with during an entire season, and the Whites still find themselves in second place in the Championship.
So speculation surrounding Saiz is not what the club need heading into January.
However, while Saiz may well be the most gifted player in the second tier, that initial panic amongst the supporters could quite easily subside quickly given the role that the Spaniard has played in recent weeks.
The £3 million signing has started once since the end of October, and, while there have flashes of brilliance recently, he had not shown enough of his best form to convince Bielsa to bring him back into the starting lineup before the weekend win over QPR.
So if Saiz is unhappy, Leeds are in a situation that seemed previously unthinkable.
Bielsa’s men could now be in a position where they have the depth and quality to cope without him.
They would need their key men to maintain their current form and for players such as Izzy Brown and Lewis Baker to step up, but selling Saiz does not have to be the devastating blow that it would have been had he left in the summer.
Of course, the ideal scenario would be for Saiz to decide to stay and help Leeds capitalise on their current position and secure promotion.
But if Bielsa feels that he is not going to get the best out of the playmaker and the right offer comes in, Leeds have now got themselves into the kind of position that would allow them to sell Saiz without having their season derailed.
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