Leeds United have gone through a thrilling opening period of fixtures in their first season back in the Premier League for 16 years, with plenty of ups and downs already.
The matches so far have predictably been action-packed with 31 goals flying in across their opening eight fixtures, of which three have been won and four lost. However, one constant for Leeds has been the impressive form of Mateusz Klich.
Aside from the evergreen Pablo Hernandez, 30-year-old Klich - who has been at Elland Road since 2017 - is the oldest player in the dressing room but prior to this season, his only experience in top-flight football was in the Polish Ekstraklasa and Eredivisie in the Netherlands.
However, he has easily adapted to Premier League football and has symbolised how Leeds have been getting it right in the final third under the instructions of Bielsa. Whilst he arrived at the club a year earlier than the Argentine, Klich is one of the players best suited to the manager’s system due to his combination of passing technique and pressing ability, while being able to fit seamlessly into an interchangeable attacking system.
As highlighted by Whoscored.com , the midfielder has started 11 matches this season for Leeds and the Poland international team across three different midfield positions.
His highest level of performance has come in an attacking midfield role, where he has provided two assists in just three starts.
However, he is most commonly deployed in a deeper midfield role - more of a ‘box-to-box’ style role - where he has netted twice and provided two assists in seven starts, while he struggled more in his one outing in a holding midfield role.
This has been highlighted in the player’s data in the Premier League this season, which has been flagged up by Twitter account LUFCdata . The account outlines how the Pole has had the most ‘successful pressures’ of all the league’s players to date this campaign - his tally of 59 is at least six more than any other player, with Everton’s Allan his nearest challenger on 53.
This is an instruction which underpins Bielsa’s system, highlighted by the fact that Klich is one of four Leeds players - including Stuart Dallas, Jack Harrison and Luke Ayling - who are in the top 12 list for this measure in the division.
It is not just Klich’s hustling and harrying of opponents which make him so valuable, but his technical output too. LUFCdata also measures that the Pole is second in the list of players for the ‘most successful passes in the final third’ to date.
Klich’s 148 is surpassed only by Fulham’s Tom Cairney and he is the only Leeds player to feature in the league’s top 10, while he surpasses some illustrious company including Bruno Fernandes, Jack Grealish, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kevin De Bruyne.
Of course, this data is linked to the ‘most chances created’ in the Premier League where only 12 players have created more than Klich (14), as highlighted by LUFCdata .
Teammate Jack Harrison (18) is the only other Leeds player above him on the list, which is jointly topped by Mohamed Salah and De Bruyne (21).
This is data which illustrates just how pivotal a player Klich is at Elland Road, despite not being the highest profile individual or grabbing many headlines.
The 30-year-old’s goalscoring record is modest and has only scored 43 senior club goals across his career. However, his pressing, passing, tactical flexibility and understanding are all key to Bielsa’s side and will be fundamental to any success this campaign.
