Bielsa confusion over Rodrigo’s best position indicates Orta signing him was a mistake
Rodrigo has spent the majority of his Leeds United career playing as a midfielder yet Marcelo Bielsa recently revealed he views him as a striker.
The Spaniard has had a difficult period with injuries recently, and when he did return against Chelsea he was subbed off despite being brought on.
He has now picked up another muscle injury so looks set to miss out against Fulham.
That led Bielsa to comment on Rodrigo, and he raised an intriguing point when discussing his best position and attributes.
As reported by the BBC’s Adam Pope, Bielsa said, “A great striker. He becomes a starter when on form.
“When he finds his best form he’s a very dangerous forward and very useful.”
We have seen the threat Rodrigo poses since Victo Orta brought him in last summer.
He scored well-taken goals against Newcastle and West Brom but those moments have been few and far between due to the deep position he takes up in the team.
On occasions, he can be seen alongside Mateusz Klich or helping out Luke Ayling despite the fact he is supposed to be an attacking midfielder.
Throughout his career Rodrigo has played as a striker, with 252 appearances as a frontman – he even operated as a forward for Spain.
Yet Bielsa has played him as a midfielder.
We can understand that Patrick Bamford has kept him from playing his natural no.9 role but why did Orta sign him in the first place?
Leeds needed a top-level central midfielder after gaining promotion – that is why we chased Rodrigo De Paul for so long, per Fabrizio Romano.
Not only that, but we needed a back-up for Kalvin Phillips as we have struggled without him in the side, winning just two out of eight games in his absence.
Orta must have known this and should have brought in a midfielder who can contribute to the defensive side of the game.
Rodrigo was not that player, and to sign him for an eye-watering £26million was an error on Orta’s part.
In other Leeds United news, Paul Robinson thinks one Leeds star is set for an exciting new role against Fulham.