Leeds United's Mateusz Klich has been one of Marcelo Bielsa's finest servants throughout the Argentine's tenure.
Klich was brought back from the brink, after an ill-fated loan spell, transformed into one of Leeds' most trusted midfield lieutenants.
Accompanying his Leeds United resurgence was his rise to prominence with the Polish national team, something he will no doubt be grateful to Bielsa for.
Having just been eliminated from Euro 2020 with Poland, Klich will be returning to pre-season training in West Yorkshire sooner rather than later.
It is unlikely he will be reporting for duty this coming week when the rest of the squad arrive back at Thorp Arch, but it won't be long before the Pole is gracing the training ground with his presence once more.
This summer though, Leeds are known to be in for a No. 8 - a central midfielder, in layman's terms.
The reason for the discernment, is that Mateusz Klich is perhaps the closest thing Leeds United currently have to a pure No. 8.
He presses like a No. 6, he passes like a No. 8 and he receives the ball in advanced areas like a No. 10.
Klich is an amalgamation of skills, and at the risk of sounding like Liam Neeson's character in Taken, has a very particular set of skills.
According to FBRef.com, Klich is among the best in his position across Europe's top five leagues for receiving progressive passes.
What this means is that Klich positions himself in areas of the pitch where either the defenders or Kalvin Phillips can make a forward pass to him.
This is an underrated aspect of Klich's play - he constantly finds pockets so Leeds can play their preferred brand of football.
On average, he receives just over seven progressive passes every 90 minutes, making him in the top 1% of midfielders at doing so across Europe's major leagues.
Similarly, Klich is in the top six-percent of midfielders throughout Europe's big five divisions (La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Premier League) for shot-creating actions.
A shot-creating action is self-explanatory and counts as either a dribble, a shot which is saved and leads to another attempt, a pass preceding a shot, winning a foul which leads to a shot being taken from a free-kick or penalty or retrieving the ball immediately before an attempt at goal.
Klich is among the best of the best in this regard, likely due to his aggressive positioning, pushing up at every opportunity in which Leeds have the ball.
While this seemingly paints a picture of a player who is immensely talented, it is rather a reflection of how well Klich knows the Bielsa system.
This means that any player who comes in this summer, which LeedsLive understands is the intention, who may challenge Klich for his place, will need to operate at the same level as the Pole in these particular areas, whilst adding something where Klich may be lacking.
