Leeds United could have our future as a Championship side confirmed if Mateusz Klich issues the club a transfer request, upholding the fears of Whites expert Noel Whelan.
Speaking with Football Insider, the former United forward conceded that he feels Klich could become the latest first-team figure to demand a move away, after seeing no effort made by the club to secure his future.
Klich’s current contract expires next summer having seen out the first two seasons of his three-year deal, but the board have not been forthcoming with an offer to renew, despite the Poland international featuring in each of our second-tier fixtures last term.
The 29-year-old also proved his abilities to offer more offensively during Marcelo Bielsa’s inaugural campaign at the Elland Road helm, chipping in with ten goals and nine assists to end the term with the second-best goal involvement rate of any United player – only behind Pablo Hernandez’s 24.
Klich’s tally of 19 was by far the 19-cap international’s best record of his career, on top of offering a defensively competent central midfielder who perfectly complemented the system deployed by the boss.
But the lack of a new contract has sparked fear in Whelan that he may follow Kalvin Phillips, Bailey Peacock-Farrell, and Tom Pearce in potentially issuing the club with a transfer request…
“Leeds need to nail Klich down before the start of the season,” Whelan stated. “Keep the player happy and content, rather than leaving it until January and risk the possibility of him leaving for nothing [in the summer].
“He seems a very professional player, and someone who doesn’t mope about or complain. But, when you do well as a footballer, you should be rewarded [with a new contract].
“Klich is a key player after winning over Bielsa last season. He will probably start on Sunday [against Bristol City], and if he’s regarded as a key starter like last season, he deserves another contract. If not, he could also leave.”
Losing Klich, on top of potentially losing Phillips and having lost Pontus Jansson, would leave Bielsa with a shadow of the side that closed out the 2018/19 Championship campaign in the Play-Off Semi-Finals, and one that would be lucky to be in contention for the top six next May.