The fear of falling apart after yet another incredible Championship start must have made the Leeds fans anxious over the past few weeks time as Marcelo Bielsa’s men were failing to clinch results and dropped down from the top of the table spot before the international break. But a win against Ipswich Town and a draw against Nottingham Forest have now given the Whites 4 crucial points out of a possible 6, and the return of Pablo Hernandez played a critical role in their resurgence from recent shambles.
Hernandez, despite his promising years with Valencia, is mostly remembered for a couple of seasons spent with Swansea City, the then Premier League regulars who surprised all by clinching the League Cup glory back in 2013. The Spaniard then made a low-key move to Qatar before linking up with former Swansea manager Garry Monk who was in charge of Leeds back then. In spite of being in his thirties, the former Spain international took little time to settle in the second tier, and his move was made permanent for the impact he made in Leeds United colours.
Although the West Yorkshire greats failed to secure a playoff finish under Monk despite promising strides, Hernandez soon became an influence despite struggling with the physicality and restlessness of Championship football. Injuries have ruled him out for weeks quite often, but he came back as a better player on each occasion including the Ipswich tie where he set up both the goals to seal all three points.
Leeds were in flying form when the Spaniard was featuring week in week out until the outing against Norwich City at Carrow Road where he scored spectacularly before limping off the pitch. There were other injury woes as well, but the absence of the 33-year-old attacker had the worst consequence of all as none managed to fill his boots down the right flank.
Hernandez has made only six Championship starts but scored thrice and assisted four times already. He has maintained a statistical supremacy over Kemar Roofe, Mateusz Klich and Ezgjan Alioski – the other teammates who are also contributing upfront to wrap up victories. His versatility and vision place him a step ahead of his teammates as well as counterparts.
Bielsa, meanwhile, should have scouted a better alternative than Jack Harrison to feature in place of Hernandez when he is sidelined but is tipped to have a solution when target man Patrick Bamford returns to action in early January. Pablo Hernandez’s availability and fitness, however, would be key to Leeds’ promotion challenge and Premier League football would be privileged to witness the excellence of this misprised Spanish maestro even if the age is not in his favour these days.
