Bielsa delivers six-word verdict on Raphinha display in Leeds defeat v Wolves
Marcelo Bielsa can be a man of very few words sometimes and it seems that the Leeds United manager had little to say about Raphinha’s debut against Wolves on Monday.
Raphinha, 23, came off the bench for Leeds in the closing stages of their 1-0 defeat at Elland Road and managed to impress the supporters who tuned in to watch the match on television.
The Brazilian winger, who cost the Whites £17million when he joined from Rennes earlier this month, also appears to have impressed Bielsa but the Argentine didn’t give too much away when he was asked to delivers his thoughts on the debutant’s display on Monday.
Speaking in a press conference on Thursday, Bielsa was quoted by LeedsLive as saying: “He showed presence in those minutes.”
According to WyScout, Raphinha completed five of the eight passes he attempted against Wolves, one of his four crosses was accurate and he also had two touches inside the away side’s penalty area so the Brazilian certainly had an impact.
However, it wasn’t enough of an impact as Leeds suffered their first defeat since the opening day of the season thanks to a deflected goal by Raul Jimenez – who should’ve been sent off late on.
Leeds will suffer results like that but it was nice to see that someone like Raphinha can have a big impact when he’s called upon off the bench.
Bielsa loves to have a few impact substitutes at his disposal. We’re thinking of Jack Clarke in his debut season at Elland Road and Eddie Nketiah last term. Both made massive impacts off the bench but neither were ever regular starters.
Raphinha cost Leeds a lot of money so we do think he’ll become a starter at some point but who do you drop for him? Helder Costa has been one of the best Leeds players this term and he’s in the same position as the new South American on the block.
In other Leeds United news, Phil Hay has named two players who Leeds could attempt to sign in January.