With the ongoing debate at Leeds United about whether or not manager Marcelo Bielsa should rely more on Arsenal loanee Eddie Nketiah, or continue to place his starting faith in Patrick Bamford, Nketiah did himself no harm at all across the international break as he helped himself to a brace for England’s Under 21 side as they faced Austria on Tuesday evening in the European U21 qualifier.
The 20-year-old would’ve walked out with an official hattrick (or four) had his late penalty effort not been saved, but depending on which reports you read, he took the match ball anyway, although some are crediting Marco Friedl with an own goal (although he’s understandably claiming it).
Top performance from the boys tonight! Unreal feeling to score a hat-trick for @England 📞⚽⚽⚽ #YoungLions pic.twitter.com/NaQHEyNBJE
— Eddie Nketiah 📞 (@EddieNketiah9) October 15, 2019
With pundits weighing in on his starting time with us, and plenty of speculation about whether or not his parent club will recall him it seems the youngster was slightly ambushed by the question following the game, and although I think he answered well – backing himself to make an impact whilst also being respectful – I can only imagine the headlines that will span from this with presumptions of unhappiness and frustration.
“I am really just trying to do as much as I can. Obviously, I will never be happy with being on the bench. I want to play. I pride myself on being in the team. I think I am good enough to be in the team. All I can do is put in the performances that I do. When I come on try and contribute and I think with the chances I have had, I have done really well. In the two games I have started, I have scored. I always try and help the team when I come on. I feel like going away with England is always a great opportunity for me to continue to put a case forward and show myself.”
His chance will undoubtedly come, he’s regularly involved and he just has to give Bielsa a question when the opportunity arises.
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