MOT View: Nketiah injury bad timing for player, club and loan deal
Leeds United striker Eddie Nketiah is out injured. No one knows for how long exactly and no one knows exactly what’s wrong, although word is that the injury is to a very delicate part of the body.
The injury came at a very cruel moment for Nketiah – the day before he was due to get his first start for Leeds in the game against QPR, according to Marcelo Bielsa.
The latest view from Leeds journalist Phil Hay is that he could be out until mid-December, which is alarmingly close to January.
We don’t write that to state the obvious but rather that’s when the transfer window opens and a recall clause could be activated by Arsenal.
Ahead of the injury, everything seemed quite relaxed from the Gunners.
Back in mid-October Arsenal manager Unai Emery said he had no intention of contacting Leeds to find out why his young striker wasn’t starting games.
“Now is not the moment,” Emery said. “First I respect his coach and his decision. And I think he is going to play more, because he is going to deserve it.” [Telegraph]
However, things have changed since then.
Firstly, Emery’s job seems to be hanging by a thread at Arsenal. If he’s sacked and a new manager comes in, the view on Nketiah could change dramatically.
In a Q&A on The Athletic on Friday, Phil Hay said that it would be in Arsenal’s hands and that, “The view at Arsenal is that he hasn’t played enough”.
We doubt he gets game time at Arsenal this season but he would walk into the starting XI of most Championship clubs and Bristol City haven’t dropped their interest since the summer when Leeds beat them to his signature.
In Leeds’ favour is that the injury was just unfortunate and seemingly a complete fluke. There’s no reason to doubt Bielsa when he said he was going to start him – he doesn’t seem the sort of manager to play mind games.
If Leeds can reassure Arsenal that Nketiah still has a major part to play at Elland Road then they might think his future is best served under Bielsa.
But there’s no doubt that with goals still an issue at Leeds, the injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for player, club and for the continuation of his loan deal.
It would be a huge shame if a player with the talent and eye for goal of Nketiah didn’t make an impact at Leeds.
In other Leeds news, Mateusz Klich opens up on intensity of Bielsa ‘murderball’