Bolton Wanderers 0 Leeds United 1: Samuel Saiz future is out of my hands, admits Marcelo Bielsa

Saiz was absent from a 1-0 win at Bolton Wanderers today having received permission from Leeds to travel to Spain and undergo a medical with La Liga side Getafe.

The 27-year-old made a shock request to quit Elland Road this week, telling United officials that he was unhappy in England and wanted to move back to Madrid.

Leeds are discussing a deal with Getafe which would see Saiz join on loan until the end of the season with a view to a permanent £6m transfer next summer.

Bielsa’s side rode the unsettling effect of Saiz’s unexpected absence to claim a fifth straight win at Bolton and move back to the top of the Championship above Norwich City, who play Bristol City this evening.

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Patrick Bamford settled an attritional match on his comeback from a knee injury, scoring with his first touch five minutes after coming off the bench.

Bielsa was asked to clarify Saiz’s future at full-time and said: “He has a personal situation to solve and the club allowed him to talk (to Getafe). I can't tell you what will happen. What I can tell you is that he has the permission of the club to be absent.

“I don’t know the reasons for his absence. This is a decision between the club and Samuel Saiz. I don't know the facts. What will happen is linked to the club and Samuel Saiz.

“It’s not a football problem and my job is football. Saiz is an important player and he’s one of the players who has played most under me. I have to explain things when it’s my decision. This situation has to be explained by the club and Saiz, not me, but not because it’s a probably for me to explain it.”

Saiz’s pending exit leaves a notable gap in Bielsa’s squad and Leeds will receive no immediate fee for the Spaniard but the club have on-loan Chelsea midfielder Izzy Brown close to a return from ACL surgery.

Bielsa refused to comment on whether he would ask Leeds to sign a replacement next month, saying: “It’s very complicated to talk about hypotheses because we don’t imagine situations. We analyse them when they happen.

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“I understand your question but I can’t give you an answer on a hypothetical situation.”

Leeds battled through harsh weather conditions to see off a struggling Bolton side who are inside the Championship’s bottom three and without a win since September.

Bamford, who suffered knee ligament damage in September a month after a £7m move from Middlesbrough, stole the show by appearing as a second-half replacement for Kemar Roofe and driving home a 66th-minute winner, earning Leeds a fifth successive league victory for the first time since 2009.

Bielsa said: ”For him it's very good for his confidence. He worked hard to gain back his fitness and for us to have two good strikers in our team is very important.

“It was a hard win. A deserved win but a hard one. We had the possession but we didn't create enough chances.”