There are plenty of positives to take from Leeds United’s 1-0 win against Tottenham on Saturday.
Noah Okafor and Harry Wilson both made an almost immediate impact off the bench for Daniel Farke.
However, I’d argue that the biggest positive was Melvin Bard’s second-half cameo after the Frenchman was subbed on for Gabriel Gudmundsson.
Bard seems to have made quite an impression on our fanbase in what was just his third appearance for United. But now, the 26-year-old has a golden opportunity to establish himself in the Leeds team going forward.
Melvin Bard could be set for a run of games amid Gabriel Gudmundsson injury blow
Farke confirmed that Gudmundsson was taken off at half-time against Spurs due to a hamstring injury.
I wouldn’t have been surprised if James Justin moved over to left-wing back and Joe Rodon slotted back into the defence. Thankfully, Farke trusted Bard to play in that second half, and it’s a decision that paid off.
Farke said that he does expect Gudmundsson to be back by the end of the international break.
But if he is not fully fit, or suffers some sort of setback in his recovery, Bard has positioned himself in a fantastic position to potentially start our game against Chelsea on 21 November.
Seeing how good Bard was over the weekend, I certainly wouldn’t be rushing Gudmundsson back if he wasn’t 100%.
Even if he is 100%, Farke has a real selection dilemma on his hands.
Making Bard’s stay in West Yorkshire permanent for just £4.3million will be a no-brainer for the 49ers if he can continue to put in performances like his one against Tottenham.
Melvin Bard vs Spurs by the numbers
In his only other cameo appearance in the league against Newcastle, Bard played just 18 minutes.
But the 45 minutes Bard got against Spurs was by far the most minutes he’s got for us so far in the Premier League. Up to this point, the full-back was still an unknown quantity for us Leeds fans.
And in his time on the pitch, he made five defensive contributions. They were made up of three recoveries, one clearance and one interception.
He also won four out of his six duels. And his quick thinking from a throw-in led to our goal. Even if it won’t go down as an assist. (Sofascore)
In that game, we saw the benefit of having a left-footed wing-back on the pitch when Gudmundsson is not there.
Bard put four crosses into the box, and there was also a point in the second half when Bard played a lovely ball down the channel to Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
If Justin were there, or a Sam Byram instead, like we’ve seen previosuly under Farke, this pass simply isn’t on.
The loan signing of Bard was never going to be one that got us all out of our seats. However, Saturday’s game was just more evidence of why we need to continue to add quality depth to our ranks moving forward.
