MOT View: Long-term Leeds absentee can be big asset for Bielsa in PL next term
If Leeds United are to get promoted this season, they’re to have to do it without Adam Forshaw.
The midfielder has been limited to just seven games in the Championship this season because of injury, hasn’t played since September, and is not likely to be back before the end of the campaign either.
But assuming we don’t slip up and do secure a place in the top flight next season, will he be able to make his mark for Marcelo Bielsa’s men?
The 28-year-old already has experience in the Premier League having recorded 34 outings for Middlesbrough in 2016/17, and is still of an age whereby you could justifiably argue he is at his peak.
And if anything, the stats suggest that he is a better player now than he was three years ago.
This term, Forshaw has recorded a pass completion rate of 91.6%, 1.2% higher than his total for Boro, as well as having more successful dribbles, winning more duels, and losing the ball less often and recovering it more in his own half, as per Wyscout.
His total action success rate per 90 minutes is higher too.
And his influence is painfully obvious.
Above is his pass map from the 3-0 win over Stoke City back in August, a match in which he completed 81 out of his 88 attempted passes.
It makes for impressive viewing.
They’re not necessarily difficult balls – although it’s worth pointing out that some certainly are – but the sheer consistency is absurd.
There are parts of that graph that are pretty much coloured in blue, such is the density of his distribution.
And it’s no fluke either.
Just once this season has Forshaw dropped below a pass completion rate of 87%.
In that Stoke match, Forshaw also managed eight ball recoveries, with an impressive six coming in the opposition’s half.
The distribution is erratic to say the least, but it illustrates an all-action midfielder who is clearly willing to run his socks off and put a foot in wherever it may be needed.
And it’s that tenacity that makes him such a vital cog in this Leeds machine.
Above are the four loose ball duels Forshaw won in that game too – a completion rate of 100%.
To not lose a single 50/50 throughout an entire match is testament to the kind of player Forshaw is, and for all of the glitz and glamour of the Premier League, you can’t put a price on somebody who is willing to give their blood and guts for the cause.
Bielsa will definitely have a role in mind for the 28-year-old next term.
In other Leeds United news, MOT View: BBC man relays ‘staggering’ EFL update that proves how critical promotion is for Leeds.