Leeds United

Leeds United hoping to Klich with Polish international – 4 things to know

As reported earlier on The72 via Dutch media publication Tubantia, Leeds United are said to be readying a bid for 10-cap Poland international Mateusz Klich.

Tubantia say that Leeds United “which already has an interest [for a] while” in the Polish midfielder has already bid once for him and “that bid was rejected” by current club Twente Enschede.

It is expected that the goalscoring midfielder will return to Enchede in the meantime ahead of purported further interest with Tubantia saying “Klich has been eagerly awaiting [the] transfer.”

This interest in a goalscoring central midfielder will piqué the interest on Leeds United fans, with their own central midfield last season largely firing blanks. However, information is pretty thin on the ground for the international who has played in his native Poland, Germany and now plies his trade in the Dutch Eredivisie.

Leeds United and 4 things Klich

1. Three countries: Since making his début in 2009/10, 27-year-old Matteusz Klich has played in three countries. He first played for boyhood club Cracovia Kraków in the Polish Ekstraklasa, before a near £1.3 million transfer to Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg at the opening of the July 2011 transfer window.

A loan followed to Eredivisie side PEC Zwolle at the end of January 2013, the Dutch side making this a £170,000 permanent transfer on the opening of that July’s transfer window. He was at Zwolle a single season, impressing enough for Wolfsburg to exercise a buy-back option costing them around £638,000 to bring him back to German football.

He was transferred to fellow Bundesliga side Kaiserslautern at the beginning of January 2015 for a fee just over £200,000. He arrived at current club FC Twente Enschede near the end of August last year, singing a contract until 2019.

2. Scorer and a provider last season: his 2016/17 Eredivise campaign saw the Polish international turn out 29 times for Twente, scoring six times and providing four assists. In his Eredivisie career he has featured in 72 games, scored 12 goals and provided 15 assists.

His goals last season came at the rate of one every 434 minutes, which would potentially mark him out to be in the nine goals per season bracket. If you added his six goals scored and four assists made then the 27-year-old was involved in a goal every 260 minutes.

3. Accuracy and volume passing: over a typical 90 minute period, Klich shows both volume and accuracy in his passing. He averages 62 passes per 90 minutes at an accuracy of 82.3% – completing 51 passes per 90 minute period. Of these pass attempts, 38 (61.3%) are forward of the position he receives the ball – this showing a go-forward attitude.

4. He measures up well to Ronaldo Vieira: in all area of the game, barring possibly potential, Klich more than matches up to Leeds United’s young starlet Ronaldo Vieira. Maybe it is not a case of like-for-like replacement rather than Klich being that foil for Vieira.

Defensively

Klich

Attacking

Klich

Passing

Klich

Graphics credit: WhoScored.com player comparison – Ronaldo Vieira vs Mateusz Klich
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