Leeds United transfer news: Leeds plot ‘affordable’ raid for La Liga winner, Whites swoop for Arsenal star ‘blocked’

The winger, playing in the centre forward role once again in the continued absence of Patrick Bamford, scored two of the Whites goals as the Villa Park game swung wildly in and out of their control.

Even had he not scored, Bielsa saw value in James’ work.

“I’m very happy for him,” said the head coach.

“I sincerely value the contribution he makes to our game. He scored, so it was a lot better. Even when he doesn’t score he makes contributions to our offensive game.”

Leeds took the lead through James’ opener but had the game ripped from them as Philippe Coutinho scored one and made two for Jacob Ramsey.

James hit back in first half stoppage time and Leeds, enjoying more dominance, levelled deservedly in the second half through Diego Llorente.

Bielsa was content that it was a fair result, even if his side finished on top against 10 men as Ezri Konsa saw red.

“It was a game with alternate dominance, with moments of good football from both teams” said Bielsa.

“The second half didn’t stand out as much, it was very competitive. Perhaps we could have unbalanced in the second half. We created a few more chances and were in conditions to do so.

“A draw was the fair result.”

Rodrigo, like James, stood out with his performance while Raphinha, such a key player throughout the season had a quieter night. Bielsa, though, expects all of his attackers to shine at various points of the season.

“We count on creative players to construct the offensive game,” he said.

“To attack is very difficult, you could say it is the most difficult in football. It’s difficult to play well in attack continuously. Normally the contributions even out. Sometimes one player stands out, other times another. It’s normal in the offensive part of every team.”