There’s no doubting that Pablo Hernandez has been Leeds’ best player over the past few years.

The Spaniard became the first player in the club’s history to win three Player of the Year awards, but this season has been something of a slow burner for the 35-year-old.

He was injured in the first game of the season against Liverpool, and since then he hasn’t been seen in United’s starting XI.

Fortunately, he’s back fit appearing in two substitute cameos against both Wolves and Aston Villa, but we can’t help but feel that this is the role Hernandez may now have to accept going forward.

Marcelo Bielsa revealed last week that he sees Rodrigo as more of an attacking midfield option rather than a striking option, and you don’t spend a club-record fee on a player you’re just going to leave on the bench.

It’s also worth noting that Rodrigo is only getting better as the weeks go on, the 29-year-old was sublime against Villa playing two key passes, and getting into some really dangerous positions, getting four shots off.

The sad reality is that Hernandez may no longer be Leeds’ star man, and his new role may be as a substitute option.

The fact is that father time is undefeated, Hernandez turns 36 this season and the Premier League is so much faster than the Championship, so in his advanced years, he may not be athletic enough to be as integral as he was in the second-tier.

We all know how good he can be, but playing at such intensity for 90 minutes in such a fast league is a young man’s job, and Hernandez may have to come to terms with the fact that he doesn’t have that same speed he once had.

We’re sure he will still do a great job off the bench, after all, it was only last week that Alex McLeish was describing him as a ‘terrific’ player, but the arrival of Rodrigo may finally have seen him slip down the pecking order.