Eddie Nketiah will be hoping his recent England outing will help him earn a start at Leeds United.
Stuart Pearce thinks Leeds United striker had ticked off another quality in being the ‘complete player’ from Marcelo Bielsa checklist.
The 20-year-old netted a hat-trick for his country on Tuesday when England’s U21’s thrashed Austria 5-1 in a Euro 2021 qualifier.
Whilst Nketiah has displayed time and time again his ability to stick the ball into the back of the net with either foot, one of his goals against Austria did come via his head.
As posted on BT Sports official YouTube account, Pearce was pleased that Nketiah had added another quality to the high-quality movement he is showing.
“Well, he has just added to the checklist from Bielsa about the complete player,” Pearce told BT Sport. “He has just scored with his head now to go with the movement he has shown us already.”
Nketiah, who is on loan at Leeds from Premier League side Arsenal, isn’t getting the game time he most desperately wants.
Patrick Bamford is ahead of him in the pecking order and his more all-round ability is working in his favour and earning him regular starts in the Championship.
If Nketiah can score more goals via his head and perhaps bring more of his teammates into the game then he may well win over Bielsa’s stubbornness.
But until then, it looks like Bamford will be playing ahead of him at Elland Road, as Leeds take on Birmingham City on Saturday.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
