Phil Hay: Leeds senior ace to play for U23s tomorrow
Athletic journalist Phil Hay expects Leeds United defender Diego Llorente to feature for the Whites’ Under 23 side on Monday.
Some fans were expecting the lesser spotted Llorente to play against Crawley in Sunday’s FA Cup clash but he was not included in the matchday squad.
This led to one fan asking Hay on Twitter where Llorente was after Marcelo Bielsa previously said that the defender may play this weekend.
Hay replied to the fan by saying, “Think you’ll see him in the 23s tomorrow.”
The Whites’ youth side will play Burnley’s Under 23 side on Monday afternoon and it looks as if it will be an opportunity for Llorente to prove his fitness.
Leeds need as many defenders available as possible at the moment but they have been boosted by the return of Liam Cooper as he started against Crawley.
Cooper was unable to stop his side being on the wrong end of an FA Cup shock as the Whites were comfortably beaten by League Two outfit Crawley 3-0.
Bielsa made plenty of changes but the Leeds side he fielded should have had more than enough for John Yem’s team.
Llorente’s return will provide a boost for the Whites as he hasn’t featured for Leeds in their last six Premier League games.
With Llorente set to play on Monday, it does leave a question over why Bielsa didn’t select him to play against Crawley.
The Argentine could have rightly thought that the team he fielded would have had enough quality to keep a League Two side at bay but surely a game against League Two opposition would be an adequate time to put Llorente back in the first team.
Perhaps Bielsa doesn’t trust Llorente enough yet as an extra 24 hours surely won’t make that much of a difference to the defender’s fitness.
Whatever the reason for Llorente’s absence against Crawley, it will be a boost to have him back available now Leeds only have league action ahead of them for the rest of the season.
In other Leeds United news, Steve Howey believes that the Whites should re-sign one of their former players this month.