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Ian Poveda should regain Leeds bench spot after moment of magic
Leeds United fans who did not attend Monday’s under-23 game with Barnsley would have probably guessed that they would be relying on a Leeds goal being scored or a moment of brilliance taking place for any footage to emerge from the game once it became apparent that it was not being broadcast live.
Half-time came and went and the Whites’s latest update on the game on their own Twitter account remained the lineup announcement. No goals to speak of. And seemingly, few moments of genuine quality.
But that changed after the break. Bobby Kamwa had broken the deadlock. which begins with Barnsley in possession in Leeds’s half.
Followers of Marcelo Bielsa’s side are becoming used to seeing goal clips which begin with the opposition somehow believing that they have Leeds under the cosh before the Championship leaders strike in mesmerising fashion.
And that appears to have filtered down to the under-23s. January signing Ian Poveda is the man to get the ball under control in the middle of the park for the visitors.
Moments later, Poveda has danced past two players thanks to a beautiful turn. He offloads the ball and begins the kind of run that allowed Luke Ayling to volley home Jack Harrison’s cross in Saturday’s 2-0 over Huddersfield Town.
Unlike Ayling, Poveda is in a wide position when he gets the ball back. But the end result proves to be similar.
The former Manchester City man slides the ball across for Kamwa to tap home. It is Kamwa’s goal, but it is Poveda that most Leeds fans are talking about.
It is the kind of magic that Bielsa needs to see from the players looking to rival Harrison and Helder Costa for a first-team chance.
And it is the kind of magic that should see Poveda return to the first-team bench against Cardiff City this Sunday.
The 20-year-old has not been named in any of Bielsa’s last seven squads. But he has shown that he has the piece of brilliance in his locker that could see him prove Leeds’s wildcard in the closing stages of the campaign.
Admittedly, it is not immediately clear whose place Poveda should take on the bench. The likes of Pascal Struijk and Olly Casey may disappear anyway should Bielsa have Kalvin Phillips back this weekend.
But there is no question that Poveda has shown that he could be the ace up Bielsa’s sleeve.