Eddie Nketiah has made a strong start for Leeds since joining the Yorkshire club on loan from Arsenal.
Leeds were desperate to sign a striker in the summer transfer window after Kemar Roofe left the club. They managed to beat other potential rivals to sign Nketiah in the end.
The 20-year-old has already scored four goals, including two in the Championship. Although he is yet to start a league game, he has made a significant contribution coming on from the bench.
Angus Kinnear has revealed the process behind getting Nketiah on loan from Arsenal. He says that Nketiah scores goals for fun, and that he is an expensive loan signing.
Kinnear said to fan podcast Talking Shutt: “When we spoke to Arsenal about him we asked them, is this a player you want us to develop so you can sell him? They said no, this is a player we want you to develop so he can come back and play first team football for Arsenal and that’s where Marcelo and his coaching staff give us a competitive advantage versus some of the clubs he could have joined. I don’t think there’s a safer pair of hands to entrust him to than Marcelo.
“Victor went to the Arsenal training ground for the meeting and he was in a queue. It was competitive but we back ourselves in those types of situations because, I think we were an unknown entity last year and when we lost out on someone like Harvey Barnes I think we knew we wouldn’t lose out on that type of player again because we could put a more compelling case together about why Leeds United is the best place for them to be.”
Arsenal rate him very highly and they have no intention of selling him. In fact, the Gunners do have an option of recalling him in January, but that would have only happened had his loan move turned into a failure.
Marcelo Bielsa has used him wisely so far. The Argentine has started with Patrick Bamford in the Championship, but surely there will be times when Nketiah will be selected in the first eleven purely on the basis of merit and form.
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