Leeds United: Marcelo Bielsa made £1.5m signing an eventual success - View | OneFootball

Mateusz Klich had a tough start to life at Elland Road but became one of the Whites' most important players

Marcelo Bielsa changed many things for the better in his time at Leeds United, and one of the most notable success stories in his tenure as boss was the emergence of midfielder Mateusz Klich.

Klich had joined Leeds from FC Twente 12 months prior to Bielsa's arrival in June 2017, with a growing reputation after impressing in the Eredivisie and playing numerous times for the Poland national team since his debut in 2011.

His first year at Elland Road was a failure though, as he suffered from a lack of game-time and moved on loan to FC Utrecht in the January window, but he soon returned for the new season with Bielsa in charge as he looked to revitalise his short Whites' career.

That he did, as the new Leeds boss played him consistently, and he soon grew into one of his most important players in both the Championship and the Premier League.

Bielsa was key to Klich's eventual success, as was he to Bielsa's, and in hindsight, it was a masterstroke by the boss to him to give him a real chance to show what he could do in English football.

Mateusz Klich became vital to Leeds United following slow Elland Road start

Klich arrived at Leeds amid a raft of overseas signings under Thomas Christiansen in the summer of 2017, and was a constant in cup games in the first half of his debut season, but failed to nail down a starting berth in the league and made just five Championship appearances before moving back to the Netherlands for six months with Utrecht.

Leeds had ambitiously hired Bielsa in the post-season with the clear aim of finally getting promoted out of the Championship, and Klich was set to be key to his plans after he had returned to the club with a point to prove following a tough first 12 months.

Klich netted the first competitive goal of the Bielsa era as he fired home the opener inside 15 minutes of their first Championship game of the season against newly-promoted Stoke City, and bagged a further nine goals and assists each in 50 games in all competitions as he became a stalwart in midfield alongside Kalvin Phillips.

Leeds were unable to secure promotion in Bielsa's first season, but went one better and cruised to the top-flight as second-tier champions in 2019/20, with Klich starting in 45 of 46 league games and registering six goals and five assists, while signing a new four-and-a-half-year deal in a clear sign that he was there to stay as an important cog in the Argentine's system.

He did just that, with 35 appearances as Leeds finished ninth in the Premier League in 2020/21, and a continued influence even beyond Bielsa's eventual sacking in February 2022 after a slump in form.

Mateusz Klich owed his career resurgence to Marcelo Bielsa

Klich remained a Leeds player for another 11 months after Bielsa's exit, but never truly reached the same heights under new boss Jesse Marsch as he did under the legendary Argentine.

The then-32-year-old featured just 14 times with no league starts in the first half of the 2022/23 campaign under Marsch, and soon departed the club in January 2023 to join MLS side DC United, with his teammates forming him a guard of honour after his emotional final game against West Ham.

Klich went from forgotten man to cult hero under Bielsa, and spoke of his gratitude to his head-coach in a 2021 interview with FourFourTwo.

He said: "(He changed my life) enormously. I told him after we’d secured promotion in 2020 that he saved my career.

"I don’t know where I’d be if it weren't for him. I couldn’t get a break in the Bundesliga, even tried my luck in the German second division and generally couldn’t find my home until I came to Leeds.

"Bielsa created a new version of me as a player. I’ve listened to everything he’s said and it’s paid off."

It is likely that Klich would never have found his feet in English football if it wasn't for Bielsa, and his success story will be one that Leeds fans remember fondly for years to come.