Cult status has been afforded to Mateusz Klich since his miraculous recovery from the cold grip of Leeds United’s departure lounge to a relentless promotion machine. The Poland international was done with Elland Road as of the end of the 2017/18 campaign, which he saw out with FC Utrecht in the Netherlands.
Ronaldo Vieira’s unexpected sale to Sampdoria in Marcelo Bielsa’s first summer left the head coach short of a midfielder. Klich was stuck in limbo between the core unit and the bomb squad Victor Orta was taking an axe to, until a memorable display against Las Palmas, in the final friendly of 2018, thrust him into the Vieira void.
The opening goal of the Bielsa era would follow and Klich has never looked back. The 31-year-old has 173 Leeds appearances to his name and he is already making an impression on Jesse Marsch.
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Klich has started six of the American’s seven games, but found himself hooked at half-time in Croydon on Monday night. Keen eyes will have seen the animated conversation they had in the latter stages of that first period.
Marsch has opened up on the talks they have had since full-time: "First, it wasn't anyone's best game. Klichy and I spoke after the match and spoke about things that could be better and then discussed how to handle the tough moments as well.
"I really like Klichy and think he's a really good player. I love his personality and he's been a big part of the successes we've had together so far, so we're going to need him for sure.”
Robin Koch was Klich’s replacement on Monday evening and there are some questions about whether that switch is made permanent at 4.30pm on Saturday at Elland Road. Marsch said: "He and Robin provide different things when they play in that role.
“Obviously, Mateusz is a more attacking player and Robin is a more defensive player, but there are different needs for different situations. I could see in the match we were struggling with the ball and even though Klichy normally helps us in those situations, I knew defending in that moment was going to be the biggest factor because Crystal Palace had the ability to unbalance us at times.
"It worked out okay. Getting the draw was important for us, but Mateusz and Robin will continue to be important for us as we move forward."
