View: No choice for Bielsa if Bamford out, Rodrigo not fit enough to lead line
Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa is going to have to pick between Rodrigo and Tyler Roberts to play up top if Patrick Bamford is ruled out of the game against Fulham.
We don’t think it’s much of a choice.
When Rodrigo signed in the summer, plenty of Leeds fans thought that he was going to be first-choice striker at Leeds.
Given that he was the club-record signing and played as a striker for Spain, this was a fair assessment.
However, it hasn’t worked out that way. Marcelo Bielsa has converted Rodrigo into a number 10 and the player has been in and out of the team with illness and injury.
He was subbed as a sub in the last game against Chelsea and Bielsa said after the game that Rodrigo actually gave more than he was expecting after returning from injury.
Given that, we don’t think there’s any chance that Bielsa will think that Rodrigo can play 90 minutes in the Bamford role, which involves constant running, pressing and a huge work-rate.
That means that Tyler Roberts could get the chance to prove that he can play as a striker in the Premier League.
Zero goals in the top-flight so far say otherwise but Roberts has been unlucky. He had a goal ruled out against West Ham for a marginal offside that Jermaine Pennant said was a “rubbish decision”.
He had another ruled out in the game against Chelsea, for another marginal offside, and then almost scored with a brilliant chip that Édouard Mendy just got his fingertips to.
Leeds fans have criticised Roberts a lot this season but if Bamford is out and Rodrigo isn’t up to the job, it’s going to be the 22-year-old attacker who gets the nod on Friday night.
In other Leeds United news, View: Bielsa to make huge change after big injury setback – Predicted Leeds starting XI v Fulham