Marcelo Bielsa is not a manager who has favourites; he maintains distance from his players and interacts with them solely on a professional level.
The Leeds United boss does so in order to sharpen his decision-making when difficult choices are required.
Whether that be concerning team selection, outgoing transfers or sending a player on loan, Bielsa deems this a necessary endeavour in order to remain objective.
Despite this, the Whites head coach does drop the occasional indicator in press conferences - or recently, on the touchline - that implies he regards certain players particularly highly.
Leo Hjelde is the latest to fall into that category. The Argentine did not hesitate to start Hjelde in the FA Cup Third Round defeat to West Ham United, nor was he troubled by the prospect of Hjelde being substituted on at a moment's notice to cover for the injured Junior Firpo at left-back.
When brought off at the 77-minute mark on his competitive debut for the club, Hjelde was acknowledged by Bielsa as he returned to take his place on the bench - something of a rarity.
The 66-year-old tends not to divert his focus from the game when substituting players, leaving his coaching staff to provide the customary gestures of a job well done.
In his latest pre-match press conference, Bielsa named Hjelde twice, despite not explicitly being asked a question about the young Norwegian.
He grouped the teenager in with Pascal Struijk and Joe Gelhardt - two successes of Victor Orta's youth recruitment drive at the club over the past several years.
"He picked players with margin of growth for the potential to be better," Bielsa said of Orta's ability to identify talent.
"He's a person who knows the market very well with regards to young players from different countries, he's picked young players who are very good. Just to name a few: Pascal, Gelhardt, Hjelde."
Once more, Bielsa would reference his latest Premier League debutant ahead of this weekend's meeting with Newcastle United, grouping him with Gelhardt.
"If Gelhardt and Hjelde are one of the options for the position they play for many years, that would mean they have converted themselves into Premier League players but that's still in development, that still hasn't been confirmed. They're taking steps."
Hjelde impressed sufficiently during his two run-outs at the London Stadium. There is the possibility he may be involved this weekend as Junior Firpo is ruled out with the hamstring problem that saw him substituted for the Norwegian during the first half at West Ham.
While Stuart Dallas is also a candidate to start the game at left-back, it speaks volumes of Hjelde's progress, development and attitude that despite his age, he has been thrust into first-team affairs less than six months after initially signing for the U23 side.
The teenager was on the first-team bench as early as September, one month after putting pen to paper on a four-year deal with the club, having only featured twice for the U23s.
If Bielsa does truly view Hjelde in the same bracket as Pascal Struijk, who he defined as a 'Premier League player', and Joe Gelhardt whose form since arriving at the club has generated considerable excitement, Leeds may well have pulled off a quite impressive transfer coup.
