Ex-Leeds United man would understand January Elland Road exit but pleads case for replacement

Tony Dorigo would understand if Mateusz Klich wanted to leave Leeds United, but the ex-Whites title winner believes the club would then require a replacement.
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Klich is the subject of serious interest from MLS outfit DC United, among others in European football, and having been given a single Premier League start this season, an exit would make sense from a career perspective.

Once a mainstay of the Whites' starting XI, Klich's 11 substitute appearances have amounted to just 188 minutes of top flight football and may have played some part in his failure to make Poland's World Cup squad.

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At 32, he will be weighing up the importance of game time, according to Dorigo.

"I think it's difficult because you look at the age he is, he obviously wants to be playing," he told the YEP.

"I've been towards the back end of your career and you just want to keep playing as long as you can and that means games, not sitting on the bench. That's kind of where he is. I'm sure he was told he'd get his chance and had to take it with both hands, so he has been patient, but he hasn't played very much at all."

Klich served up a reminder of the good times for which he was partly responsible with a wonderful goal in the friendly at Elche last week, scenes that Dorigo feels have become too infrequent.

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And yet the former Leeds and England defender insists that Klich retains a high value for Leeds as a squad player in the Premier League, so if he is to part company with the club in January, they should seek to bolster the midfield.

POSSIBLE EXIT - Mateusz Klich could leave Leeds United in January, with an offer on the table from MLS outfit DC United and interest from European clubs. Pic: GettyPOSSIBLE EXIT - Mateusz Klich could leave Leeds United in January, with an offer on the table from MLS outfit DC United and interest from European clubs. Pic: Getty
POSSIBLE EXIT - Mateusz Klich could leave Leeds United in January, with an offer on the table from MLS outfit DC United and interest from European clubs. Pic: Getty

"The goal he scored against Elche was fantastic, the kind he was scoring regularly two or three seasons ago, but we haven't seen that enough in recent times," said Dorigo.

"He can and does produce telling contributions when asked to, but you can see why he would like to go. From a Leeds point of view we're a little thin on the ground in that midfield area and clearly one or two players can play those positions, yet to have someone like Mateusz Klich to come off the bench I think is important. So I certainly think if he is allowed to go, there has to be a replacement for that position."

Leeds currently have Brenden Aaronson, Jack Harrison, Rodrigo and Joe Gelhardt who have played in the number 10 role of Jesse Marsch's system, along with Sam Greenwood who can drop deeper to play as a 6 or an 8. Adam Forshaw, Marc Roca and Tyler Adams are the deeper-lying midfield operators, while the club has high hopes for ex-Manchester City prospect Darko Gyabi.