Oliver Sarkic appears to aim sly dig at Marcelo Bielsa over under-23 and senior link-up

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Oliver Sarkic has been discussing what Anderlecht fans can expect from Kemar Roofe this week. However, in doing so, it seems the former Leeds youngster also had a sly dig at Marcelo Bielsa. 

Sarkic came through the youth academy at Anderlecht before moving to Benfica in 2014. It was from there that he joined Leeds in 2017. 

He was talking to Sport/Voetbalmagazine about Roofe when he mentioned how Bielsa’s arrival changed the dynamic between the senior team and under-23s. 

“Outside of training hours, he (Roofe) was a social guy with an impeccable image. Before the arrival of Marcelo Bielsa there was a fantastic relationship between the A-team and the U23 boys. 

“Roofe was one of the players who made sure that the youngsters did not feel intimidated when they had to find their place in the dressing room.”

Sarkic left Leeds this summer, the 22-year-old joining Burton Albion after being told he had no long-term future at Elland Road. 

TBR’s View

It certainly seems an odd statement from the Montenegrin. Bielsa has been happy to bring young players into the first-team, whilst several senior players have often dropped down to under-23 duty. 

However, a long list of players, such as Sarkic, who were brought in to the under-23s by Victor Orta have been given the boot recently. 

Hugo Diaz, Alex Machuca, Sam Dalby and Adrian Balboa for example. Bielsa has also been fairly ruthless with some young talents. The likes of Liam Kitching, Aapo Halme, Mallik Wilks, Tom Pearce and Clarke Oduor have all been allowed to leave. 

However, Leeds’ boss has also overseen huge development in the likes of Jack Clarke, Leif Davis and Jamie Shackleton, with Alfie McCalmont and Mateusz Bogusz set to follow in their footsteps.

Bielsa is near-universally loved at Leeds but it seems Sarkic was not party to that feeling. Considering he never got a chance to shine at Elland Road under Bielsa, that is perhaps no surprise.