Jermaine Beckford has heaped praise on Rodrigo's start to the season for Leeds United and believes Jesse Marsch has played a big part in that. The former Whites striker claims the Spaniard is now being given more freedom to express himself in forward areas.
The 31-year-old has scored four goals and notched one assist so far this season, equating to a goal return in every game of the 2022/23 Premier League campaign.
Beckford told BT Sport: " I think it has been down to a different style of play and it has benefitted him probably more than any other player in this Leeds side. Under Marcelo Bielsa, who was a great manager in his own right, Rodrigo was expected to track back and do all of the defensive aspects of the game.
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"Now he is afforded more freedom to express himself and explore a little bit more. You can see with his stats so far this season, he is getting into more attacking areas, he is confident and he is taking shots on from areas he wouldn’t be allowed to."
Leeds have not hidden their desire to bring in another striker in the summer transfer market, but found one hard to come by. Nonetheless, the fine form of Rodrigo - combined with Patrick Bamford's return from injury - means the Whites have not struggled in front of goal so far this season.
"Strikers thrive off being confident, and he is full of confidence and firing on all cylinders," Beckford said. "It is hard to bring in another striker when he is in the form of his life, you look at Patrick Bamford who is going to be returning from injury soon as well."
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