By Mark Smith

29th Dec, 2019 | 12:00pm

'Still don't understand' - BBC pundit questions Bielsa decision not to utilise Leeds youngster

At the beginning of the season, many could have expected Leeds United forward Ryan Edmondson to breakthrough after a successful year with the academy.

Entering the second half of the campaign already, Edmondson has yet to even feature for the Whites in any competition and finds himself stuck in the under-23s still with Carlos Corberan.

Athletic journalist Phil Hay recently shared that he believes that Marcelo Bielsa isn’t fully convinced by the 19-year-old at this moment in time.

Noel Whelan has recently questioned why academy star Ryan Edmondson hasn’t been involved this season despite Leeds struggling for attacking options at times.

“I still don’t understand to this day why he’s not been given an opportunity, or even on the bench for some games,” the BBC pundit said on West Yorkshire Sport daily.

“Goals win you games. You need strikers.”

Edmondson has yet to be on the bench this season, even when at times Eddie Nketiah has not been available for the Whites through an injury which kept him sidelined for more than a month.

Now Nketiah is back and getting more minutes, the mountain Edmondson now needs to climb has gotten much bigger at Elland Road.

We have been watching the under-23s frequently this season, and earlier in the campaign, we did admit that Edmondson’s style doesn’t exactly suit the first team as he too often got frustrated when chasing the opposing side – something which Patrick Bamford has perfected this season.

In other Leeds United news, Super computer reveals probability of Leeds earning promotion this season