Former Leeds manager Monk explains how he was able to get Hernandez to Leeds

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Leeds United will be looking to continue their charge towards promotion to the Premier League when they travel to St Andrew’s to face Birmingham City this afternoon.

But standing in their way will be their former manager Garry Monk, who did plenty of good work during the 2016/17 season, before leaving the club in acrimonious circumstances to join Middlesbrough.

One of the best elements of his legacy was the signing of Pablo Hernandez, who has been outstanding this season under Marcelo Bielsa, and he has shed some light on the signing of the Spaniard – whom he managed at Swansea – and revealed how highly he rates him.

According to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Monk said: “Pablo’s quality is undeniable. I brought him in to Leeds and we were very lucky to have him. Obviously we had a relationship with Pablo previous to that and that was a factor in him coming.”

“Pablo is obviously one of the best players in the league, especially offensively. He is a quality above in this league, that’s why I brought him to Leeds.”

In the place where Leeds were when Monk took over, they wouldn’t have been able to attract a player like Hernandez without Monk’s connections from their time together at Swansea.

The difference now is that he was relied upon to be one of the few sources of creativity, whereas Marcelo Bielsa’s side is a threat from all over and plays far more flowing football than Monk’s more limited side.