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Marcelo Bielsa is a manager that has always favoured a small squad.
In order to finely adapt his side to his unique and demanding style of football, the Argentine often swiftly culls the squad he inherits, devoting his time and teaching to those he deems worthy and deserving.
To be a Bielsa player is to be versatile, tireless and capable with the ball at your feet. More often than not, versatility is the key aspect of Bielsa’s men in order to make up for what they lack in numbers. It is very rare that a Bielsa player plays only one position. If they do, they are often finely tuned for a certain, specific variant of the position they play.
Leeds United are no different and have key examples of such. Patrick Bamford is a striker tailored to fit the system, just as Kalvin Phillips is a particular mould of defensive midfielder. Many others, however, are often trained to play at least one other position so that, should they ever need to, it would keep the flow of their playstyle as smooth as possible.
The central defence is often an area of the field that can scarcely be altered, and such is true even with Bielsa. The Argentine needs his central defenders to, well, defend, but to also be comfortable on the ball whilst being willing and able to play a pass at any distance.
Injuries have been ripe amongst the Whites in the first season back in the Premier League, but their defence is an area that has been particularly stricken. Leeds spent over thirty million pounds to bolster their defence in the form of Robin Koch and Diego Llorente, but the pair have been two of the most injury hampered Leeds players since their arrival.
Such misfortune, combined with an ACL injury to Gaetano Berardi and sporadic injuries to skipper Liam Cooper, has meant that United have been heavily reliant on youngster Pascal Struijk, who prior to his Premier League debut at Anfield had made only five appearances for Leeds, which also happened to be the first five professional appearances of his career.
Although seemingly not as frequently reported as it should be, United’s defence has been one of the Premier League’s backlines to be more frequently plagued with injury-induced absences. Going into March, United have registered seven different centre-back pairings, the longest of which, consecutively, was Koch and Cooper for only four full games.
This too isn’t incorporating the back three that Leeds sometimes play when faced against a formation pronged with two strikers. United’s realtered defensive shape has partnerships between three of Cooper, Koch, Llorente, Struijk, Phillips who has dropped back from midfield, or Luke Ayling who has been drafted in from fullback.
To say that Leeds have established themselves as a solid midtable side whilst often playing games with a makeshift centre-half pairing is quite impressive. At a time, the only fit centre-back they had was Struijk, a time that saw him partnered with Ayling who, through the sheer volume of injuries, had to be drafted in as a centre-back even in a back two.
United have endured their injury woes, but are now coming through to the other side of such frustration. Berardi completed one half of football for the Leeds U23’s against Palace, Robin Koch is due to resume training from early March and Llorente has now participated, comfortably, in Premier League games.
? Berardi is back! Mark Jackson names the defender in his Starting XI whilst Ian Poveda also returns from injury to take a place on the bench pic.twitter.com/70FDSsOGEM
— Leeds United (@LUFC) March 1, 2021
At the height of their injury issues, Bielsa was frequently questioned about the prospect of another centre-back arriving at Elland Road to cover for the thinning of his already small squad in January, a hypothetical that he consistently denied would occur. A thankful avoidance, given that it would now only serve to further the current selection headache.
Cooper is Leeds United’s captain and so it is essentially unfathomable that the long-tenured White would see himself dropped from the side. With 1.82 interceptions and 3.28 tackles per 90, Cooper’s defensive efficiency has been heavily underappreciated this season through the frequent overshadow of whoever his central defensive partner is, an efficiency that couples sweetly with his passing capabilities.
Cooper averages just over 58 completed passes per 90, of which 12.48 are long passes. Such ability, as well as Bielsa’s faith in him and the natural leadership that has been part of his game for so many years now, means the only instances in which Cooper doesn’t start will surely be injury-induced.
Struijk, meanwhile, has played himself into genuine contention for a consistent starting spot in the Leeds defence. Struijk averages 2.23 tackles and 16.08 pressures per 90, stats that only serve to further his claim to start. It too is worth considering that Struijk is only in his early twenties and has truly exploded onto the scene in a fashion that no-one foresaw.
This leaves Koch, Llorente and Berardi in a selection limbo. Well, Koch and Llorente at least. Berardi is a cult hero at Leeds and is one of the few Cellino-era players that not only earned his place but came to love and adore the culture he was quickly engulfed by. Leeds love him as a club and a city and he, quite clearly, returns such fondness.
Berardi, however, is in the final year of his contract. He is getting older and will never match the ability of his fellow centre-backs. Whilst the Swiss defender deserves at least one Premier League appearance for his services, it is hard to see an instance in which he remains a genuinely considered option for the first team.
Koch and Llorente, however, are far different. Both have small sample sizes but have both looked to be particular coups for the club. The pair are, respectively, comfortable on the ball and have shown their clear ability to be able to pass the ball as well as showcase their defensive ability, which they both noticeably possess.
It is hard to see a world though in which the duo simply waltzes into the first team. Fitness certainly isn’t an issue, it is just the fact that Struijk and Cooper have been so defensively solid, it would be wrong to bench either of them.
Llorente would perhaps be more okay with a bench role, initially at least. The Spaniard signed after Koch and was, presumably, okay with being at least third choice behind Koch and Cooper. With the fast rise of Struijk however, combined with Llorente’s brilliant performances in his appearances, would he still be okay with such a role?
Diego Llorente made SEVENTEEN ball recoveries against Aston Villa today, more than any Leeds player has managed in any single competitive game since Marcelo Bielsa took charge. ? #LUFC pic.twitter.com/D2uD1MFs1r
— LUFCDATA (@LUFCDATA) February 27, 2021
As for Koch, regardless of his position, £13 million seems a steal for a player that showed glimpses of class even when playing injured. It remains a wonder as to how a fully fit Koch will play in a Bielsa system, but it may take longer than the German being deemed fully fit for fans to find out.
Bielsa has forever coped with the dressing room in the sides he has managed. Never does a player in his team have an egotistical nature and that will perhaps be the most beneficial aspect of the logjam that has unintentionally been created at the centre-back position.
Presumably, Bielsa would lean towards a Koch and Cooper partnership, as that was his initial partnership at a time where all centre-backs were fully fit. The nine-minute pairing seen at Stamford Bridge in December before Koch was taken off injured (in what would be his last outing for several months) was, in turn, the last we have seen of the duo thus far.
Intentions can often be altered by reality and there is perhaps no better example in football than Leeds’ current defensive situation. Two central defenders were signed for much-needed depth and rotational minutes with their skipper whilst, in turn, bettering each other by providing competition for that starting spot.
Unforeseen, however, was the astronomical rise of a young European centre-back who, through nothing more than bettering himself with each performance, has created something of a defensive selection crisis for his boss.
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