Leeds United starlet Sam Greenwood told to ‘be aggressive’ by Jesse Marsch
Leeds United had 20-year-old attacker Sam Greenwood to thank for helping them to a 3-0 win away at Watford last weekend to ease their relegation concerns.
The England youth international came off the bench to change the game, picking up an assist for Jack Harrison’s brilliant strike which put the cherry on top of the cake.
The Hornets had started to gain a foothold in the game before Greenwood came on but it was the words of manager Jesse Marsch that helped the 20-year-old swing the pendulum the Whites’ way.
The Leeds striker went on the official Leeds United podcast this week where he revealed exactly what Marsch said to him before he stepped foot on the Vicarage Road pitch to change the game last weekend.
“They were getting on top a little bit,” Greenwood said. “The gaffer told me to just get around second balls and be aggressive.
“In my mind, that’s my game; getting into players and causing a bit of a nuisance in the middle of the park.”
Got to start
The next game after a 3-0 win really sees many, if any changes to the starting lineup but Greenwood’s impact off the bench was too good to ignore.
You could quite easily argue that without his introduction at the right time, Watford might have gone on to equalise and then it would have been a very different game completely.
Marsch will certainly be considering the prospect of the 20-year-old leading the line when the Whites take on Crystal Palace on 25 April with Patrick Bamford still out injured.
Joe Gelhardt is another striker who is pushing for a start for the Whites but the 48-year-old coach seems content with trusting Daniel James to play through the middle along with Rodrigo.
Even if he doesn’t get on from the start, Greenwood has proven how effective he can be in a pressing forward kind of role and that is exactly who Marsch wants for his tactical setup so expect to see plenty of him in the games to come.
In other Leeds United news, this Whites talent is seen as a “hot property” by a lot of big clubs, but he’s never played for Leeds before.