Leeds United's poster boys of patience worth noting in Rodrigo's journey with Whites

The £27m Leeds shelled out for the Spanish international was always going to heap expectations upon him.

But if Leeds fans should have learned anything from Marcelo Bielsa's tenure at Elland Road it is that good things come to those who wait.

Throughout the team who helped secure a 1-0 win over Sheffield United on Sunday there are poster boys for the virtue of patience.

Jack Harrison was perhaps the best example, last season, when his second campaign under Bielsa yielded improvement in almost every single significant metric by which a player's performance can be measured.

In 2018/19 he notched four goals and four assists, last season his contribution rose to six goals and eight assists.

Beyond that his key passes per game almost doubled as he got more and more involved with the creation of chances.

On Saturday the winger claimed an assist to go with the goal he scored against Liverpool on the opening day and the early suggestions are that Leeds might be able to rely on him again for chance creation and end product in the Premier League.

Taking any of what we've seen so far in the top flight and using it as the basis for conclusions is a dangerous game, we're just three games in but Patrick Bamford couldn't do much more than he has already to hit the ground running in the Premier League.

A player whose struggles with efficiency in the Championship last season exasperated even his biggest supporters, Bamford has three goals in three games in the top flight.

His 2019/20 goals did tend to come in bursts - four in the first six games, six in eight as November gave way to December and four in six during the title run-in - but given the inevitable 'can he do it in the Premier League' debate that surfaced this summer, it's a truly admirable way to begin answering that question.

Bielsa has shown remarkable patience with his front man, sticking with the number nine when Eddie Nketiah and then Jean-Kevin Augustin were knocking on the door on the first team, because he truly believes Bamford is a great player.

There's little doubt that the two years spent under Bielsa's tutelage have grown Bamford.

He's better at holding the ball up and making a nuisance of himself and he knows exactly where to be as Leeds build and attempt to finish attacks.

Rodrigo does not present a first rodeo for the head coach and he knows that patience can benefit the new boy, just as it has others in this team.

After an underwhelming first few showings, including a poor performance in a poor team display against Hull City in the Carabao Cup and an ineffective 45 minute effort against Fulham that saw him dragged at half-time and replaced by Tyler Roberts, Rodrigo showed Leeds a little of what they expect to see for their £27m against Sheffield United.

He came on at the break, for Roberts, in a role reversal and looked sharp.

His movement off the ball kept the Blades guessing, he got on the ball at almost every opportunity and acted as an effective link between midfield and the attack.

Not every touch came off but there were some nice ones that caught the eye - none more so than the lovely bit of control and movement to take the ball away from two Blades players and sent it out to Harrison in the lead-up to the winner.

He took on shots, got on the end of a cross to head wide and generally looked a bit more like the player Leeds fans hope they've signed.

Bielsa was pleased.

"I think he showed more of the player that he is," said the head coach.

Ever keen to strike a balance in his post-match assessment, Bielsa did point out that Rodrigo's involvement came during the 45 minutes in which Leeds played better, which facilitates an easier life for any player, but Rodrigo didn't just come into a team playing well, he played a part in making them play well.

"He allowed attacks to finish in the opposition half and he played in the 45 minutes in which we played better," said Bielsa.

"It makes it easier to play well. He helped us to play better."

Bielsa is not one to add to the hype or expectation surrounding a player and he does not get carried away, yet there was a strong sense of satisfaction in the Argentine's words about his forward's performance, in a number 10 role he's less accustomed to, in a side he's still getting to know.

He believes Leeds have signed a good player who, on Sunday, helped build attacks.

He believes Rodrigo will show Leeds fans what a good player he is, a player who will turn attacks into goals.

All in good time.

"I think it is a first good step forward, an important one," he said.

"He is a player who has the capacity to unbalance which he has not yet shown. He helped facilitate our attacks. As time goes on he will help to score goals and be on the end of attacks."

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Thank you Laura Collins