da brwin： This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
da dobrowin： With Eddie Nketiah sidelined for the next three weeks, it seems as if Leeds have no choice but to persevere with Patrick Bamford up front.
However, with Bamford picking up a knock on his ankle last week, United must be alert to the possibility that they could be without both of their senior strikers in the near future.
If Bamford were to be unavailable in the next few weeks for whatever reason, Marcelo Bielsa would have no traditional number nines in his first team, but Danny Mills believes there is one player in the squad who could step up and fill in.
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What’s been said then?
The former England international believes that Helder Costa could competently play as a striker if he was called upon. He told Football Insider.
“You’ve got Helder Costa, he can play up there. Jack Clarke could come in and play in one of the wide areas.”
“They’ve got options and we’ve seen before how Bielsa mixes and matches what he does. Yes, of course, he’ll want Bamford fit but you’ve got the international break coming up, so it’ll probably only be one game, with Nketiah hopefully back after the break anyhow.
“It’s not a huge concern but if Bamford was to be unfit or unavailable for any reason, Leeds will work around it.”
A possibility
Although Costa hasn’t found the net since joining the Yorkshire club, playing him up top for United isn’t too far-fetched of an idea.
The Portuguese’s time in Leeds show he isn’t too competent in front of goal but his stats from his time in the Championship with Wolves tell a completely different story.
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He scored ten goals from 64 shots during his first Championship season at Molineux, giving him a conversion rate of around 15.6 per cent.
If he can replicate this type of form in front of goal he would be useful up top for Leeds.
His conversion rate from that season is actually much better than Bamford’s this term, as the former Chelsea man’s percentage is at a measly 8.5% after taking 47 shots and scoring just four times.