Transfers will soon dominate Leeds United’s agenda as everyone looks to fill the void in the Premier League schedule. There are only two matches between the Whites and the January transfer window, where outs as well as ins will be on Victor Orta’s desk.
Reinforcements, rather than weakening the squad depth, generally take priority, but some in the squad may be looking for more pitch time. Mateusz Klich has played 199 minutes across 11 appearances in the league this season.
That’s only one minute more than Daniel James, who left the club on September 1. At 32, Klich needs to play as much as possible before retirement catches up with him, as it does everyone.
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The Pole’s decision to stay in the summer came after conversations with Jesse Marsch. Together, they felt, even with a bit-part role, Klich would play enough to turn heads with his national boss for the World Cup.
Things did not go to plan. Last week, Marsch said: “It was a little bit of a rollercoaster for Klichy in the last week.
“About a week ago, he felt he was out. There was communication going around Poland and so he felt he was out and then a few days ago they were still deliberating on the squad.
“Then maybe he heard there was a chance and then, by the time I spoke to him on match day against Wolves, when the announcement was coming out, he kind of figured he was probably out again.
“There were a couple of things happening internally in Poland, one of which is the manager came from the youth team, the [under-]21s and he's more comfortable taking more of the younger players. That left Klichy in an awkward situation, but if you know Klichy, he's a positive guy.”
It’s hard to look at the opening three months of Klich’s season and feel he can be in any way satisfied with how it’s gone for club or country. With hindsight, he may feel he should now have sought a move in the summer to secure the starts he needed to be indispensable for Poland.
Marsch gave no indication Klich was disenchanted after the World Cup rejection. If anything, the opposite. The midfielder’s contract expires in 2024, when he will be 34-years-old. It remains to be seen what Orta wants to do on a new deal, but a January 2023 exit, loan or permanent, must be an option.
“He's a guy that loves football,” said Marsch. “Obviously, he's disappointed [about the World Cup]. Everyone wants to go to the World Cup, but his mindset and his mentality to be in the moment here and give everything to us, have been really good.”
Will Klich continue to be in the moment at Leeds? Will he be happy to see another precious season out in his short career at an average rate of 18 minutes per appearance?
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