Leeds United are once again back on the top of the table after results went in their favour last night as Norwich City succumbed to a surprise defeat and the Whites overcame Swansea City. Marcelo Bielsa had to constantly chop, change and adapt as he has missed quite a few of his players due to injuries.
The latest tweak that the manager made was trying Kemar Roofe in the attacking midfield role which allowed Pablo Hernandez to be pushed into the wide areas. Roofe has shown his versatility and has done well with Patrick Bamford playing ahead of him. However, there is one player who the Whites would desperately want to see in action, and that is Izzy Brown.
Former Leeds United defender Tony Dorigo talked about the Chelsea loanee recently and said on LS11 Podcast, ”We still need a bit of magic dust between now and the end of the season and I think that will come from a fit [Patrick] Bamford and hopefully Izzy Brown. I still think those two players will have a huge say – certainly Izzy Brown.”
“I don’t know anyone who has a bad word to say about him. Or, if you watched him at Huddersfield and saw what he did for them, you know Bielsa is crying out for this player. Imagine Saiz with an extra yard of pace and 10 goals, that’s Brown.”
The good news for the Whites fans is that the attacking midfielder is fit and has made it to the bench. It remains to be seen when Bielsa will throw him on to the pitch. Dorigo is right as the team is calling for a player who can make that difference in the final third especially after the departure of Saiz in January.
The West Yorkshire outfit has enjoyed a decent amount of possession, but they haven’t been able to create too many chances in the attacking end of the pitch in recent times. Even when they have created enough opportunities, they have failed to convert them which is one of the reasons why they have had a slight slump in form.
Brown is the perfect player to start in the attacking midfield role. However, the club needs to be patient with him as the Englishman hasn’t played competitive football for over a year now. We still have some games to go before the end of the season and Bielsa would hope that Brown can finally contribute during this phase of the season. His pace and directness would come in handy, but only time will tell how he would go about his business after coming back from such a lengthy injury lay off.
