Marcelo Bielsa has been discussing Eddie Nketiah’s first few days as a Leeds United player, confirming the striker is set for his debut on Tuesday.

Eddie Nketiah receiving a warm welcome from the Leeds fans (Photo via Twitter / LUFC)
Eddie Nketiah receiving a warm welcome from the Leeds fans (Photo via Twitter / LUFC)

Nketiah joined Leeds on a season-long loan on deadline day, deciding to take advantage of the opportunity for more regular football.

Unai Emery had insisted to the player he would get more minutes with Arsenal than in 2018/19, but in the end, they came to the joint decision that a temporary move was the best thing for Nketiah’s development.

Now the question is when the 20-year-old will make his debut. Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa talked to the media about Nketiah’s situation as things stand.

“On Friday and Saturday, he did evaluations, tests,” Bielsa explained. “Yesterday [Sunday] he did real training, same as today. Trained normal. I don’t know how many minutes, but he will be involved [against Salford City on Tuesday].”

“All the minutes that he had in the Arsenal and national teams, we could watch these minutes. Then I have an idea about the skills and capabilities of the player.

“In these two days when we’re working with him, it’s very easy to show in training what he’s showing in the games. He’s a complex player because he has a lot of capabilities.”

Eddie Nketiah after scoring against Fiorentina in pre-season (Photo via AP)
Eddie Nketiah after scoring against Fiorentina in pre-season (Photo via AP)

Nketiah was Arsenal’s joint-top scorer in pre-season, along with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on three goals. The academy striker also added an assist to his tour total, making sure not to waste his chance to prove himself.

It looks like he’s set to play a part against Salford City in the League Cup on Tuesday at 19:45, in a game that will be televised on Sky Sports in the UK.

Given the cup clash is against lower league opposition, it’s a good one to ease Nketiah in before the Championship matches he’ll be featuring in soon enough.