Live from Barnsley: Leeds 20y/o could have grabbed chance in U23s with Bielsa present
By Mark Smith at Barnsley
Carlos Corberan had the pleasure of selecting five Leeds United senior players for the under-23’s clash with Barnsley on Monday.
Barry Douglas, Ezgjan Alioski, Jamie Shackleton, Tyler Roberts and more importantly Ian Poveda all lined up at Oakwell.
That didn’t help though as Leeds played out a 1-1 draw in terrible conditions with Marcelo Bielsa sat watching intently from the sidelines.
With Bielsa watching, it will have been a massive chance for Poveda, in particular, to catch his eye after being missing from the matchday squad for more than a month.
The 20-year-old struggled in the first half but quickly came to life in the second. Poveda got on the ball frequently and the Tykes backline couldn’t handle him.
It was his final ball that has been disappointing in recent matches and finally, he got his reward when assisting Bobby Kamwa after neat work to get in behind.
That was just a snippet of his second half, which was his best period of action since arriving at the club from Manchester City in January.
Jordan Stevens was nowhere to be seen at Oakwell, and the winger could have fallen below Poveda in the rankings at Elland Road after his Monday outing.
The 20-year-old was visibly disappointed when he was taken off in the second half, but him not completing 90 minutes could be the first hint that he is in line to feature against Cardiff.
Bielsa was in the stand accompanied with a large group that seemed close to the boss. He was intently watching the clash whilst having a good laugh and joke throughout.
He will have been keeping a close eye on proceedings, and Poveda certainly would have been one of his top priorities with only nine games left to play this season.
Helder Costa and Jack Harrison have both been superb recently so it would be a place on the bench for Poveda if he is called upon, and he will have to perform like that more often to earn it.
In other Leeds United news, here are our player ratings from the 1-1 draw at Oakwell on Monday afternoon