'It's calculated' - Mateusz Klich on his Leeds United gamble

Conceding more than twice as many fouls as any of his team-mates, the Pole could stand accused of embodying the 'dirty Leeds' image of yesteryear.

He certainly embodies the club's 'us against the world' ethos with sometimes not so thinly veiled social media barbs and antics that rile his rivals - the water bottle sprayed down the back of the shirt and the shushing of an entire bench are just two examples - but Klich's on-field crimes are more of an occupational hazard.

As Marcelo Bielsa's box-to-box and everywhere-in-between central midfielder, Klich is more often than not the first on the scene.

The nature of his role in the team and his responsibilities with regards to Bielsa's press go some way to explaining why he has been guilty of 32 fouls, when the next most penalised Leeds players - Gjanni Alioski, Stuart Dallas and Patrick Bamford - have given away 15 apiece.

In possession Klich's job is to help paint that beautiful masterpiece that Bielsa calls attacking football. Out of it, he's a spoiler, nicking the brush from the opposition's artists if he can and knocking them off their stool if he has to.

The need for haste plays a part, because Bielsa wants Leeds to win the ball back quickly and, ideally, as close to the opposition box as possible.

"Me and Pat are the first players who start with the pressing and try to be aggressive," he told the YEP.

"I'm trying to get the ball as high as possible, there is a very short way to the opponents' goal from there. I think it's a good place to steal the ball."

So Klich approaches the man with the ball at speed, in the knowledge that if he wins it Leeds are in great shape and the counter is on. If he doesn't win it, Leeds might be out of shape and in trouble.

In the win over Everton he gave away four free-kicks, all of which were in the Toffees' half of the pitch. Twice he was nipping in to win the ball back having given it away, once he fell victim to a Luke Ayling style flop from Mason Holgate near the corner flag and the final foul, the most calculated of all, stopped Fabian Delph from breaking into space.

Two similar interventions stopped Newcastle United's Ryan Fraser from counter attacking from deep after Leeds had turned over possession and twice against West Brom Klich fouled Conor Gallagher near the halfway line to shut down the playmaker as he looked to play forward.

Even if it doesn't pay off it is often worth the gamble.

At home to Fulham he had Harrison Reed isolated and going towards the touchline but made enough contact to send his man off balance. Had he nicked the ball, Fulham were in bother.

At Crystal Palace Klich was Leeds' second furthest man forward and had a real chance of hurting the hosts on the counter if he won the ball, but went in too strongly on James McArthur.

On that day he was fortunate to stay on the tightrope with four further fouls, one of which was a trip on Eberechi Eze after he had already been yellow carded.

Similarly, in the win over Aston Villa, he was a pest.

A foul on Douglas Luiz on halfway was followed by a pair of encounters with Jack Grealish, who duly obliged by hitting the turf on both occasions. Klich fouled Ollie Watkins on 89 minutes, saw yellow for stopping John McGinn's promising surge through the middle and then put an arm across Luiz to stop him finding a man in space.

Sometimes his eagerness costs him and Leeds - he conceded a spot-kick against Leicester - but it's rare.

He doesn't tend to go to ground, doesn't often concede free-kicks in dangerous positions and many of his fouls are little clips or barges. He'll nip yer ankles rather than bite yer legs.

Some of his fouls have given Leeds breathers and chances to reset their shape defensively at good moments in games, but the aim, usually, is to win the ball.

He sniffs out opportunity and when an opposition player gets isolated, labours in possession or turns the wrong way, Klich pounces; intercepting a pass to begin a counter at Middlesbrough that he himself finished off, getting away with a strong shoulder in the back of Lewis Travis to feed Bamford, who set Leeds on their way to a hugely important promotion run-in win at Blackburn.

This season when he stripped Sander Berge of possession at Sheffield United, he started the move for Bamford's winner.

As with other elements of Bielsa's style of play, there is reward to be had from taking risks.

"I make a lot of fouls but I steal a lot of balls as well," he said.

"If I wasn't so aggressive I wouldn't get so many interceptions and the ball. It's calculated."