Former Middlesbrough midfielder Adam Forshaw was supposed to be a relatively important member in Leeds United’s setup. However, he missed the pre-season as he had to go through a surgery and even after his comeback, Forshaw has failed to start a single game for the Whites as of now. Bielsa has used him in six games so far as a substitute playing a total of just 90 minutes of football.
The resurgence of Mateusz Klich and the performance of Kalvin Phillips in midfield has made it tough for this 27-year-old Englishman. However, Forshaw seems not to be losing sleep over his non-involvement in the first team and has indicated that he is still learning a lot by staying in the vicinity of someone like Marcelo Bielsa.
Forshaw was quoted as saying,”There’s been big changes between a lot of the players. Everybody bought into it and you can see it’s working… it’s pleasing for all of us that our hard work’s paying off, and credit to the manager and his staff that he’s brought in.
“They’ve really made the difference for us. I really wanted to have a manager to have a strong leadership who would be a catalyst for the whole club, the players because I thought we needed to change the culture the culture of work and in the entire club and very quickly he has achieved this objective.”
Forshaw is not the first player who has come out claiming how Bielsa has impacted the club. Plenty of players are of the same opinion and everyone is feeling that optimism around the club. Forshaw signed for the club in January this year and he was a regular under Paul Heckingbottom. However, missing out on the preseason due to an injury has severely impacted his first-team chances under Bielsa.
The Argentine manager is not known to chop and change his sides a lot and he often prefers to play the same eleven so until and unless there is an injury crisis in midfield, Forshaw might have to bide his time on the bench. However, even then his attitude looks good and personally he might not be playing much, but he seems to be happy for the team.
In a long season, Forshaw would get some chances to prove his worth and he should be ready to take those with both hands when it arrives. Bielsa has admitted there is a group of players who want rest and maybe we might see some rotation being made in the future. In that case, we can see this former Everton midfielder back in the Whites’ eleven.
Note: The article was written before Leeds United’s game Vs Blackburn Rovers.
