In many respects, Mateusz Klich’s Leeds United career was over before it ever began after signing for the Whites in the summer of 2017. It took just six months for then Leeds boss Thomas Christiansen to ship the Polish international out on loan after a costly mistake during a defeat to Cardiff turned their relationship sour. Few thought they would ever see Klich again at Elland Road, but as he left for FC Utrecht, he promised the director of football at the club Victor Orta that he would still make a name for himself in Leeds.
Klich’s defiant attitude would turn out to be prophetic after Christiansen left to be replaced by Marcelo Bielsa who instantly took a liking to the Pole. Indeed, Klich would score the first-ever goal of Bielsa’s famed spell at the West Yorkshire club in 2018 and slowly turned into a cult hero at Elland Road. However, fast forward to May 2022 and once again, Klich is facing an uncertain future at the club with worrying predictions for Leeds in the most recent Premier League odds for relegation.
Perhaps even more worryingly is that any hope has been all but snuffed out with the latest EPL tips suggesting that the Whites have run out of road in the most competitive league in the world and will return to the Championship.
💬 | #LUFC started the last campaign with a 3-1 win over Stoke. Who do you want us to face first in our centenary season? __________ pic.twitter.com/n9GKJw3ARU
— Leeds United (@LUFC) June 20, 2019
What this means for Klich is hard to say but even if the Whites did miraculously survive, precious little in the way of playing time will be promised to Klich who will turn 32 in June. The midfielder does still have 24 months left on his current Leeds contract but once again, it’s impossible to say whether any new Leeds manager will take to the Pole as Bielsa did.
What comes next for Mateusz Klich?
Revealingly, current Leeds boss Jesse Marsch has left the 31-year-old out of his starting XI on multiple occasions since taking over from Bielsa at the end of February, which does tend to indicate that the American thinks Leeds have better options in midfield. With that being said, the saving grace for Klich is that the Elland Road faithful haven’t taken to Marsch particularly well, and even after just three months in charge, there is already mutiny growing on the terraces.
Yes, this could mean that hope springs eternal for Klich in the event that Marsch is replaced but whichever way you look at the events at Elland Road and how they may unfold in the future, you keep coming back to the one certainty and that is that Klich has none with regards to his future.
Mateusz Klich made this look so easy 👏
— Soccer AM (@SoccerAM) April 6, 2020
Solid corner routine too 😉 pic.twitter.com/y9UQbl8hrE
When all is said and done, the situation in West Yorkshire is currently too volatile to predict now that Leeds have been plunged into turmoil once more. The reality is that should this be the end of the road for Klich at a club he has served with distinction, then the Polish midfielder can leave Leeds with his head held high after playing his part in some of the most enthralling years in the Whites’ recent history.
In truth, there was always going to be a time to come and sadly, also a time to go in for Klich in Leeds. That is the reality of modern football and indeed the life of a professional in today’s era.
There is, however, no getting away from the fact that this particular departure will hurt a city that has adopted Klich as one of its own. Whether the midfielder, who had made just shy of 200 appearances for the Whites, heads back to Poland or stays in Leeds for a while longer remains to be seen but the inescapable truth is that the end is nigh for a player that will never be forgotten in West Yorkshire.