Samu Saiz’s actions have put Leeds United up a well-known creek, but could Mateusz Klich be among the solutions?
Samu Saiz will miss Leeds United’s next six Championship games after accepting a charge of spitting at an opponent during Sunday’s shock FA Cup defeat at Newport County.
The Spanish playmaker has been a revelation for United this season and his absence will surely impact Leeds’ efforts to remain in the top six over the next month or so.
Pablo Hernandez is the obvious candidate to replace him at number 10, but should Thomas Christiansen also experiment with Mateusz Klich in that role?
Klich, a £1.5 million summer signing, revealed to The Yorkshire Evening Post after his arrival that he was a “creative midfielder” and perhaps Christiansen should test that claim.
Leeds fans have only seen the Poland international in a central midfield role and his lack of Championship games might suggest that the Whites boss doesn’t rate him in that position.
But when the situation calls for it, Christiansen should see how effective Klich can be from a more advanced role.
If he’s good then he’ll feel like a new signing, given that he and fans must be resigned to his spell in West Yorkshire being a failure, and if he fails in that role then at least Christiansen can say he tried to make it work for the former FC Twente man.
Klich, according to Transfermarkt, has eight goals and seven assists from an attacking midfield position.
It’s not an outstanding record, but it’s surely good enough that he deserves the consideration to be Hernandez’s under-study while Saiz is missing.
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