Sam Allardyce wants Adam Forshaw to play every minute for Leeds United in last two games – Phil Hay
Sam Allardyce clearly wants Adam Forshaw to play every minute for Leeds United in their final two games of the Premier League season, according to Phil Hay.
The Athletic journalist insisted that Big Sam has been talking up the midfielder ever since he arrived, starting him against Manchester City, and then bringing him off the bench against Newcastle.
One problem is the fitness of Forshaw, who has only started three games all season and that was likely the reason behind why he was benched last time out.
Speaking on the Square Ball podcast on Monday 15 May, Hay shared what he believes Allardyce would do if he could in the final two games.
“Adam Forshaw,” he said.
“Allardyce really spoke him up after the Manchester City and you could tell from what he was saying that he would like Forshaw to play every single minute of every single game that is left because clearly, in his mind of the midfielders who are available, Forshaw is the most dependable option if he was 100%.
But, the problem with Forshaw, is that he isn’t 100% so on Saturday, Allardyce wasn’t able to play him from the start, brought him on at half-time as he felt that was needed.”
Dependable?
That is the main question.
Forshaw may be very dependable when he is on the pitch, but the big issue is that he hardly is fit enough to be on the turf given his injury issues in the past.
The midfielder made a big difference in the heart of the side when coming on against Newcastle, and if he can get a good week of training behind him, he will very likely start against West Ham.
Allardyce wants those in his side that he can rely on and those that will stand up when the going gets tough as he tries to put across a new mentality.
Forshaw has proven that he can do that, and he will be desperate to turn those three starts into five in the final couple of games of the season.
If that happens and Leeds also stay up, it will be the perfect end to the season for him, and potentially his career at Elland Road with his contract expiring.
In other Leeds United news, a partial closure of Elland Road could now be on the cards with an investigation underway