Former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan thinks that Eddie Nketiah should be playing more centrally if he is to become more prolific as part of Leeds’ attacking setup.
Nketiah started the Whites’ see-saw 5-4 victory over Birmingham City on Sunday, but was unable to get on the scoresheet as Marcelo Bielsa’s side dramatically returned to the top of the Championship.
Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan believes that Nketiah spends too much time drifting out to the wing – something reminiscent of Thierry Henry – and is becoming less of a threat as a result.
Whelan has suggested Nketiah should take up a more central position or be played out wide alongside Patrick Bamford, who missed the trip to St. Andrew’s through injury.
He said: “My problem with Eddie is that he spends so much time out wide and he likes to take that Thierry Henry role – coming in off the left, coming in off the right.
“That’s great, but I want my centre forward in the middle to score goals. He’s one of these players that will score you goals when he’s in the box. If you’re going to play that sort of way, you’re going to have to leave Patrick Bamford on the field as well.”
It appears that Nketiah was not able to make the most of a rare opportunity to start at the weekend, with the striker failing to register a shot in 80 minutes, according to WhoScored – which also suggested that only Liam Cooper performed to a lower standard out of Leeds’ starting outfield players.
That Leeds scored so freely on Sunday suggests that while posing a collective attacking threat does not seem to be a problem, Nketiah’s stats could indicate he is potentially ineffective and wasted in the role he performed in against Birmingham – justifying Whelan’s frustration.
Having said that, Leeds’ second goal came about from good work from the Arsenal loanee on the wing, before the ball broke for Jack Harrison to double their advantage via a deflection.
Therefore, perhaps finding the right striking combination without Bamford’s services will be key for Bielsa going forward with a promotion on the line, which may in turn see Nketiah adjust his position in order to get the most out of him and the rest of the team.
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