A pass that stands out in 7,000 others - Pablo Hernandez' Leeds United artwork

In fact at the word ‘magic’ the little Spaniard popped up, unmarked, in a pocket of space inside the minds of all Whites.

He is the player all other Leeds players point at, when asked who the best is, the Top Gun of Thorp Arch and Elland Road.

Luke Ayling, a product of the Arsenal youth system, goes even further, calling Hernandez the best player he has played with in general, not just at Leeds.

Adam Forshaw, whose mantra is ‘give him the ball at every opportunity’ agrees.

“He is one of the best players I’ve every played with, nevermind Leeds,” said the box-to-box midfielder.

“He is just the type of player that makes things happen.”

Hernandez, who turns 35 next month, is still making things happen on a regular basis, as one of the Championship’s most potent creative forces.

He is passing the ball with a greater accuracy now than in any other season at Elland Road and although, with nine games remaining in the current pandemic-disrupted season, he has recorded half the number of both goals and assists as last season, he has made, on average, 2.3 chances per 2019/20 league game – fewer than last season’s three per game but still good enough to best any of his team-mates.

Since he joined Leeds in August 2016 he has created a chance approximately every 30 minutes and can boast direct involvement in more goals than anyone else in the division in that time.

Under Marcelo Bielsa, Hernandez has created almost a fifth of Leeds’ total Championship chances and been directly involved in 28 per cent of their league goals.

Numbers might add helpful context for explaining Hernandez’ importance to the Whites and the way in which they pour forward as a White tide, drowning opposition teams in waves of attacks he helps orchestrate, smothering defences with third-man runs and overloads out wide that he either participates in or feeds.

But they cannot begin to tell the story of the love affair between Leeds fans and players and the visionary midfielder.

Statistics tell you that Bristol City hate the sight of him and suggest they are his favourite opponent – he has three goals and four assists in seven meetings with the Robins.

But the goal he scored at Ashton Gate, the first of Leeds United’s season back in August, has to be seen to be truly appreciated. On Soccerbase or Whoscored.com it was recorded as just another goal, the same as any other. But it was art.

It is difficult to put into words the beauty of the breathtaking moments Hernandez can create with his boots, that ability to make time stand still with a pass that cuts a defence to ribbons – like at Stoke when he curled a seemingly impossible first-time through ball onto the exact spot Stuart Dallas was sprinting towards, far enough ahead to allow the Ulsterman to race in behind his flat-footed marker, but not so far that Adam Federici had any hope of racing out of his area to intercept.

When the ball reached Hernandez, Dallas was still closer to halfway than the Stoke goalline. But Hernandez could see the possibility even before Jack Harrison played the ball to him, he was setting himself to make the pass because he knew he could make it, ignoring all the easier options around him.

And with the ball, and Dallas, on their way towards goal, Hernandez before walking nonchalantly towards the centre of the pitch. Job done, goal scored, just as he planned it.

That pass stands out among the 7,496 he has attempted in the Championship for Leeds, but many have been beautiful and thousands effective – opposition hopes suffering death by 1,385 successful final-third cuts.

Three-hundred-and-seventy-six through balls, 375 chances created, 388 touches of the ball in the box – the numbers of a top Championship problem fixer who leads not by words, but by example.

His numbers speak for him and so do the team-mates and head coach who rely on him so heavily and so often.

“He can find a solution to a problem anywhere on the pitch, said Bielsa.

“He is a silent leader for us – he does all these things without saying a word.”