Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa must wave goodbye to Pablo Hernandez this summer as a major transfer update emerges.
What's the story?
The Spaniard has only played a bit-part role in the Premier League this season, with his 15 appearances in the competition only amounting to 347 minutes of football.
Now, The Daily Mirror claim that despite his lack of involvement, Bielsa is keen to keep Hernandez at Elland Road this summer, with the playmaker having just over a year left on his existing deal at the club.
The report adds that the Leeds boss values his experience, and that he is no hurry to see him leave.
Bielsa must move on
While Hernandez has etched himself into Leeds fans' hearts with his exploits in the Championship and by helping them to achieve Premier League promotion last season, the time has surely come for Bielsa and the club to finally move on from him.
The Spaniard just turned 36 last month, and it's been incredibly telling that the highest number of minutes he's played in the top-flight this season is the 67 that he completed against Leicester way back in early November.
Dubbed as an "inspiration", the £21k-a-week earning Hernandez has previously said that he wouldn't want to overstay his welcome at Leeds if he felt like the time had passed him by.
He said: "If you talk about football tactically or technically, this is probably the best time of my career. Physically I feel good but obviously 10 years ago, I felt better. I can’t change this.
"I’ll play while I feel good. The day when I go onto a pitch, to a game, and I feel that the rest of the players run more than me, are faster than me, I arrive late to the ball or I’m not enjoying playing… on this day, I’ll say goodbye to football. But I don’t think this is that moment."
And when you look at his key numbers from this season, they are all significant drop-offs from previous years.
As per Whoscored, he's averaging career-lows in shots, key passes, dribbles and average passes per game, and it's just improbable to say that he will do any better than that were he to remain at Elland Road.
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The Spaniard has just been shocking all season whenever he's been on the pitch with no goals and just two assists, and it's fair to say that Father Time has just caught up with him. This summer is the perfect time for Leeds and Bielsa to move on.