Marcelo Bielsa hails Leeds United playmaker Pablo Hernandez and considers Helder Costa decision

Hernandez finished joint-second in the Championship’s assists charts last season by setting up 12 goals - the same as winger Kamil Grosicki’s contribution for Hull City and just two behind Brentford’s Said Benramha.

The playmaker also weighed in with 12 goals but the current campaign has seen the Spaniard return four assists and four goals with 13 games left.

Hernandez started 39 of United’s league games last season - as well as making two appearances off the bench - but the 34-year-old has been disrupted by injuries so far this term in which he has made 21 league starts and three appearances off the bench.

The Spanish playmaker will turn 35 next month with the attacking midfielder contracted for the next two years at Leeds having signed a new two-year deal in November, penning terms until the summer of 2022.

Asked how he would judge Hernandez’s season so far, Bielsa reasoned: “There are differing ways of measuring the level of one player.

“You can measure how many goals he has scored, how many final passes he gave, how many matches he played.

“In this sense, maybe he is not at the same level but the impact he has on the team is high.

“When he plays well, the team plays well. When he is at a good football level, a good fitness level, he is well and the team plays well as well.

“But there is also a lot depending on whether he is injured or not because if he is injured he needs a process to recover and come back at a good fitness level and this may decrease his impact.”

Hernandez missed the clashes against Preston North End, Birmingham City and West Brom over Christmas with a hamstring injury picked up in the first minute of the 2-1 loss at Fulham on December 21.

The Spaniard was also absent for six games in the Autumn after injuring his calf in the 1-1 draw at home to Derby County at the end of September and then picking up a separate hamstring injury upon returning to training.

Hernandez, though, has started United’s last six games with Bielsa continuing to play the midfielder in the no 10 role and resisting any temptation to play him out wide.

The Spaniard has often excelled on the right flank during his time with Leeds.

Assessing whether he was tempted to play Hernandez on the right and switch winger Helder Costa to the no 10 role, Bielsa said: “He prefers to play as a playmaker than as a right winger.

“To play him as a winger on the right is different than when you play in the middle.

“Pablo has more of an impact as a playmaker than as a winger. Pablo is a player who makes his team-mates play. He puts the team in a good condition with good offensive play. When he plays on the right side, this impact is just on the right side.

“When he plays as a playmaker, he has an impact all over the pitch.

“To play in the centre is the same as anywhere else on the pitch, because you are close to any place on the pitch and you are in a condition to receive any ball that is in play. You are close to goal when the ball is in front of you, or behind you.

“For Pablo, that is something positive, because what he does best is move the ball.”