Whelan in awe of two Leeds players after their ‘amazing’ stats last night revealed | OneFootball

Noel Whelan is in awe of the partnership Diego Llorente and Pascal Struijk are striking up after Leeds United drew 1-1 with Liverpool.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Whites striker, who was at Elland Road commentating for BBC Radio Leeds, heaped praise on the pair and drew particular attention to their “amazing” passing ability.

Struijk started the Premier League clash, with captain Liam Cooper suspended after he saw red in the unexpected win at Manchester City earlier this month.

The 21-year-old Belgian won 77 per cent of his duels and completed 89 per cent of his attempted passes on Monday night.

While Llorente, who scored the equaliser for the hosts, made 14 recoveries and nine interceptions while boasting a pass completion rate of 95 per cent. (Wyscout)

When asked by Football Insider‘s Dylan Childs for his thoughts on Leeds United’s defensive display, Whelan said: “My standout player last night was Llorente.

“He was really impressive again. He just gets better and better.

“Even when he loses the ball he gets back into position to make amends. His confidence on the ball is growing and he has a great array of passing.

“I am a big fan of Llorente and Struijk together, the two of them play well alongside each other.

“Some of Struijk’s passing was excellent. He was starting off the attacks, particularly in the second-half. It was another amazing performance from the pair of them.”

Football Insider has learned that Marcelo Bielsa plans to build his defence around Llorente.

The Whites manager is a big admirer of the Spain international and regards him as the outstanding centre-half at Elland Road.

In other news, Campbell backs colossal defender to be a big hit at Leeds after reliable journalist’s transfer update.