Only one of the senior, fit Leeds United players failed to start any of the three friendlies in Australia. Mateusz Klich has more Whites appearances than all but three members of the current squad, but the popular Pole is facing his biggest fight for minutes since Thomas Christiansen shipped him out in 2018.
If the trend began with Jesse Marsch’s chopping and changing with Klich down the 2022 run-in (one 90-minute run-out in 12 games), it continued on tour where he was evidently down the pecking order. The head coach appears to have settled on 4-2-3-1 as his primary formation with Leeds and Klich is one of those competing for the central attacking midfielder berth.
Brenden Aaronson and Rodrigo are Marsch’s preferred picks behind a striker with 20-year-old Sam Greenwood’s versatility even meaning he has seen more action than Klich this summer. Once he was left out of the starting line-up and subsequent raft of half-time substitutes in Perth, Klich’s status was only underlined.
