Raphinha steps up for Jesse Marsch at Thorp Arch ahead of Leeds United relegation fight
Jesse Marsch has shared what Leeds United star Raphinha has been doing behind the scenes, as the Brazilian looks to help the club avoid relegation.
The star forward might leave Elland Road in the summer, with some of Europe’s biggest teams apparently interested in a transfer, but that doesn’t appear to have affected the 25-year-old’s commitment to the cause during the run in.
Graham Smyth writes in the Yorkshire Evening Post: “Whatever the motives may be for a player eyeing a 2022 World Cup place and a bright future, Marsch has found a player who appears heavily invested in the team’s success and not one who has checked out early.”
And Marsch said of the Brazilian this week, via the YEP: “What I like about him is, I called on him at one of the meetings this week and he spoke English in front of the group in a confident way, he also has come to us several times and said, ‘I’d like to do this at set-pieces, I’d like to do this when I’m in this part of the field’, so I like that he’s assertive, I like that he’s confident.
“We’re going to use that to help us continue to find results as a team.”
All hands on deck
Raphinha has been the star of this season and is likely to continue his journey to the top of European football whether the club stays up or not.
A dip in form of late might have suggested that his heart wasn’t really in the battle at the bottom of the league.
But Dean Jones told Give Me Sport that the winger wants to give Whites fans a parting gift by keeping them up before he goes.
What new boss Marsch has shared of the behind-the-scenes interactions certainly doesn’t seem like the actions of a player who has his mind elsewhere.
Supporters will appreciate that, but they will appreciate it a lot more if he is able to translate that into the calibre of performance he was putting in earlier in the season.
Ian Wright was scathing in his criticism of Raphinha on Match of the Day after the Leicester defeat, saying he needed to do “a lot more”.
His head seems to be in the right place, sand the team will benefit greatly if that shows on the pitch for the run-in.
In other Leeds United news, Patrick Bamford is said to have “paid the price” of one of Marcelo Bielsa’s decisions this year.