Leeds boss Bielsa opens up on Jack Clarke’s failed loan spell

Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa has shared his opinion after it was confirmed that Jack Clarke’s loan spell will be terminated next month.

A note in the club’s match day programme by Chief Executive Angus Kinnear confirmed that Tottenham Hotspur have made the decision to recall him from the Championship outfit.

Clarke moved to Tottenham during the summer and was immediately loaned back to his former club by the Champions League finalists for what was supposed to be the duration of the 2019/20 season (Spurs official).

Bielsa was asked about Clarke following Leeds’ 1-1 draw against Preston North End and claimed that while the 19-year-old had shown improvement in recent times but Tottenham’s decision has halted his work with the teenager.

Clarke made just three first team appearances for Leeds this season, with two coming in the Carabao Cup along with a 19-minute cameo against Luton Town in the Championship towards the end of last month (transfermarkt).

Bielsa told Leeds Live when asked for his thoughts on Clarke’s loan spell: “I am very grateful with Clarke. He made his contribution in this part of the season, even if I didn’t use him.

“In the last days, he improved his performance, but just when this process was going on Tottenham decided to ask Leeds for Clarke to come back. I thought it was unnecessary to keep him if I knew he wasn’t going to be with us.

“I always try to make the players arrive as the best version of themselves. Sometimes, this process is not fast, it’s slow and we don’t achieve it faster. For instance, I saw Nketiah tonight at a good level, light and fresh to run in a tough match and comfortable. He unbalanced a lot of situations. He was fast. Comfortable in small-sized spaces and able to unbalance the match.”