Phil Hay: £134k-p/w Leeds duo now facing uncertain futures amid Victor Orta moves

Mateusz Klich and Rodrigo are facing uncertain futures at Leeds United, according to The Athletic‘s Phil Hay. 

Klich faces greater competition for the midfield roles in Jesse Marsch’s side after the Whites paid £24.7m to sign Brenden Aaronson from RB Salzburg and £10.8m to bring in Marc Roca from Bayern Munich.

The Poland international has been on Leeds’ books since 2017, when he made a £1.53m move from Eredivisie outfit FC  Twente.

Meanwhile, Rodrigo joined from Valencia two years ago ahead of the Whites’ return to the Premier League for a club-record fee of £30m. However, Victor Orta’s pursuit of a striker could be bad news for the Spaniard, who played 15 games as a centre-forward last season.

Hay wrote for The Athletic that Klich is ‘one of the players with a question mark over him’ this summer. Leeds are not ‘in a hurry to lose’ him but ‘it’s hard to know how much game time’ the 32-year-old can expect.

As for Rodrigo, Hay believes it is telling that Leeds have yet to initiate contract talks with the Spaniard. The Whites are not trying to ‘actively’ offload him at this stage, but ‘no one at the club is pretending’ that he has ‘hit the mark’.

The reporter added that ‘if it refuses to click’ under Jesse Marsch, then ‘you wonder how much longer this one will last’.

Valued at £2.7m by Transfermarkt, Klich started 26 Premier League games last season, but as Hay noted, the midfielder hasn’t really been able to sustain top form in the past 18 months.

He has two years left to run on his £34,000-per-week contract; and while he has earned ‘iconic’ status at Elland Road, according to journalist Joshua Hobbs, it may be wise to at least consider a move.

Then there’s the £10.8m-rated Rodrigo, who was also heavily involved last