Phil Hay: Adam Forshaw to fill Kalvin Phillips role for Leeds United v Chelsea
Phil Hay has shared that Adam Forshaw will likely fill the Kalvin Phillips role for Leeds United against Chelsea this afternoon.
The Yorkshire Pirlo suffered a hamstring injury last time out and is looking at a long spell on the sidelines at Elland Road.
Pascal Struijk is also available, but Hay insisted that he will likely start in place of Liam Cooper in defence after he suffered a similar problem.
Writing in his pre-match Q&A for The Athletic, Hay shared what he expects on the teamsheet at Stamford Bridge.
“I would guess Forshaw on the basis that Cooper is injured and Struijk will probably be needed at centre-back,” he wrote.
“Given the absences today, as little experimentation as possible would seem sensible. Leeds need some form of solid and familiar structure.”
Fearful.
It is very clear that Leeds always struggle when Phillips is not available.
Forshaw has been a breath of fresh air since his return from injury, but it will be difficult for him to step into that role against one of the best in the Premier League and shine.
Phillips is simply irreplaceable, and this injury only shines the spotlight brighter on Victor Orta after his outburst, as the fans complaints about lack of transfers made glaringly clearly.
Leeds have no out-and-out replacement for Phillips and given his injury record in the past couple of seasons, that is simply ludicrous – there have been plenty of windows to fix that.
Hopefully, today doesn’t go too bad and Forshaw isn’t used as a scapegoat, the likes of Robin Koch and Struijk have been destroyed for failing in that role before.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites are ready to make major January signings with unexpected deals to force action