Marcelo Bielsa drops hint on Leeds pair Pascal Struijk and Oliver Casey

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Leeds United youngsters Pascal Struijk and Oliver Casey have received reason for encouragement with Marcelo Bielsa naming the pair amongst the options who could replace Liam Cooper while the Whites captain is out injured, in comments reported by Leeds Live.

Leeds have received a significant blow. The club confirmed on their official website that Cooper is set to miss up to six weeks due to a groin injury.

The centre-back pulled up while defending a corner against West Brom on Tuesday. It was Gaetano Berardi who replaced the Scotland international in the 1-0 win, and Bielsa confirmed that the Swiss is set to start against Millwall (via Leeds Live).

But the Leeds boss also made an interesting comment regarding the other options also available to him while Cooper is sidelined.

“Liam injured is not going to be longer than six weeks unless,” he said, as reported by Leeds Live. “We have Berardi, Davis, Phillips, Pascal, Olly Casey. We have a lot of players we are working with for a long time. Casey and Struijk are younger. Davis has played with us. Phillips is an option in this sector.”

TBR’s View

Struijk’s first-team debut has looked inevitable for some time. He seemed to step up his game with the under-23s significantly last season. And he has been on the first-team bench on a couple of occasions.

Casey has really emerged more recently. He has impressed when he has featured for Carlos Corberan’s ranks this term.

It would be a surprise if either started in the near future. It would make sense if Bielsa’s list resembled the rough pecking order. And in truth, he will probably be hoping that he does not need to look further down the list while Cooper is out.

But Leeds fans know all too well how quickly injuries can pile up. And it is certainly an exciting sign for the academy prospects that they are both in Bielsa’s thoughts as he looks to cope without his captain.