Why Leeds United have struck gold with a new deal for Mateusz Klich

According to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Leeds United have secured the long-term future of influential midfielder Mateusz Klich, who has put pen to paper on a new four-and-a-half-year deal at Elland Road until the summer of 2024.

The 29-year-old Polish international was out of contract at the end of the season but the new long-term deal extends his stay in West Yorkshire until the twilight of his career.

The likes of Luke Ayling, Kalvin Phillips, Liam Cooper and Stuart Dallas have all signed contract extensions in recent months and Mateusz Klich has become the latest first-team mainstay to pledge his future to Leeds United.

Image result for klich" — Mateusz Klich has established himself as one of the mainstays of Leeds United’s midfield under Marcelo Bielsa (Getty Images)

Klich, who has been capped by Poland on 22 occasions at the senior international level, has established himself as a key player at the club under the stewardship of Marcelo Bielsa over the past 18 months.

The 29-year-old, who started each of Leeds’ 48 fixtures in the Championship last term and contributed with 10 goals and 9 assists to propel the West Yorkshire giants to a playoff place, has started each of the club’s first 16 league fixtures this term, scoring and assisting one apiece.

The Pole initially struggled to make his presence felt at Elland Road, following his move from Dutch outfit FC Twente back in 2017. He was loaned out to FC Utrecht for the second half of 2017-18 campaign but Bielsa’s arrival has gone a long way towards rejuvenating his career.

Klich has found goals hard to come by this season but he has arguably been the team’s most creative player in central midfield, with Samu Saiz no longer in the frame.

As per whoscored, the 29-year-old’s creative influence is backed up by his average of 2.2 key passes per game in the Championship, a number which has only been equalled by Pablo Hernandez.

Klich has also contributed a lot as a tough-tackling central midfielder, averaging 1.9 tackles per game.

The Pole is in his prime years as a professional and Leeds United can now look forward to enjoying his services until 2024.

Having fallen agonisingly short in their pursuit of promotion last time around, Leeds have launched yet another bid for automatic promotion this season.

To that end, Mateusz Klich remains central to their plans moving forward, given that he has the experience and the qualities to make the step up to the Premier League.

Verdict

An indispensable asset to the club’s midfield and a tailor-made fit for the manager’s philosophy, the 29-year-old has been one of the club’s standout performers over the past 18 months.

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All in all, Klich still has plenty to offer at the highest level and the new deal is certainly a welcome move.