Leeds United boss Javi Gracia approves international thinking as goal solution opens up

The pair returned to team training this week at Thorp Arch and when Patrick Bamford's expected comeback from the knock that kept him out at Chelsea is figured in, it changes the picture at the top end of the picture considerably.

Having gone to Stamford Bridge without a proven number nine, Gracia is on the verge of finding himself with two to choose from. Where he had to play Georginio Rutter and Under 21s prospect Mateo Joseph, he will be able to select the club's leading goalscorer or the man who helped himself to 17 in the post-promotion season.

And if he continues to favour a front two, the availability of Rodrigo and Bamford will open up a number of possible combinations. He could dish out the centre forward minutes between them, one replacing the other, with Rutter playing off either man.

The club's record signing has the look of a man more comfortable in a second striker role, not the one who makes the ball stick but the one who benefits in space created by a forward who drags in and holds off defenders. Rutter might well thrive off Bamford's hold-up play. Brenden Aaronson, who has been pesky but not prolific in goals or assists, is an option Gracia has used as the second striker and he might do so again.

Rodrigo and Bamford could play together as they have previously, sporadically, albeit without yet having a real chance to develop a hugely successful partnership. They play the nine role so differently that stepping on each other's toes would be unlikely, yet Gracia would have to work hard on the job-share aspect of receiving the ball from midfield or defence, where it would go next and who would occupy the traditional goalscoring areas like the six-yard box at the end of attacks.

When it comes to the second striker role Gracia has another weapon up his sleeve. Earlier this week Italy boss Roberto Mancini was discussing his own striker crisis and how Willy Gnonto could, once again, spearhead the attack for gli Azzurri.

"Our central forwards, almost all of them, have played very little in recent months," he said. "We don't have one who is a starter, with the exception of Gnonto, who is employed a bit more in Leeds and can act as a centre forward."

Gracia brought Gnonto off the bench at Chelsea to play as a second striker and the freedom appeared to his liking. He has, on occasion, shown an ability to stab clever through balls into the area for team-mates on blindside runs, which is the kind of number 10 play that Bamford or Rodrigo would relish. He has, however, put together most of his best dribbling work on the flank. Gracia likes him for both roles.

"I think it's a good option [to play him centrally]," said the head coach. "Against Chelsea when he started to play it was as a second forward and when we changed again we put him on the left to finish the game. In both positions I think he can make the difference. His qualities are good to play in both positions - as a second striker and a left winger."

Even if Gracia puts his finger directly on the exact forward combination that will unlock better chance creation and finishing to give Leeds the goals they need to survive, he's still going to need to change it. Bamford's injury issues over the past two seasons will necessitate a cotton wool approach until his body can finally acclimatise to regular football again. Rodrigo is coming off ankle surgery and more than a month's lay-off. Even if they're both fit for Saturday against Brighton, neither is remotely likely to play every minute of every remaining game.

An array of weapons is always ideal and Gnonto has already shown that he is a good one to have, whether that's out wide or driving through the middle of the pitch. What's more, the season so far has proven that when the little Italian and his best mate Crysencio Summerville appear together in the same area of the pitch, good things happen.

They've assisted each other for a goal apiece - Gnonto's goal against West Ham came was the duo at their best, Summerville's winner against Bournemouth was just as good - and have combined to make chances for each other or team-mates. Their off-field chemistry has undoubtedly helped, but there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that giving Gnonto the freedom to roam close to Summerville could yield more good things for Leeds.

If nothing else, for a team struggling to put the ball in the net, such an experiment might just be worth a try and Gracia will surely turn his hand to whatever he can find among his weaponry to get Leeds firing again.