Leeds United midfielder Mateusz Klich has recently been rewarded for his efforts by the club by signing a new four-and-a-half-year deal.

The Polish international has been a very important figure in the Leeds United team since Marcelo Bielsa’s arrival in the summer of 2018, as he is yet to miss a single league game since the start of last season.

Klich’s start to life at Elland Road was far from ideal as he joined under then-manager Thomas Christiansen and was rarely used until January when he was cast out on-loan to FC Utrecht for the rest of that season. There seemed to be no way back for the midfielder at Elland Road with Bielsa arriving and eager to rid the club of any deadwood but he clearly had plans for Klich in his midfield.

The following season saw him become a crucial player at Elland Road with 10 goals and eight assists from central midfield that almost saw Leeds clinch promotion. This season has seen his influence in front of goal diminish a lot, but he is still showing every other quality that sees him a big favourite of Bielsa and the fans.

With the midfielder agreeing to a new contract that will keep him at the club until 2024, we take a look at his season so far in numbers to see how he earned this deal…

Having played every single league game this season, Mateusz Klich has amassed a total of 1417 minutes played for the Whites over 16 Championship games. In that time, he has scored just one goal and assisted one too, from a total of 32 shots.

This statistic is underwhelming for the midfielder who will be expecting more from himself as well as the fans who know he is capable of more, and he could have added to this tally from the penalty spot against Derby when his usually reliable technique failed him.

Marcelo Bielsa has recently commented on Klich’s lack of goals so far and has backed him to find his form again, where he told LeedsLive: "Last season he had a good shot on himself from outside the box, but I think, day-to-day, he will continue to grow to get to the level he achieved last season." 

While it is a disappointing output so far, it has to be said that Klich is a player who has barely stopped for a break in the past two seasons and is clearly experiencing some fatigue in that respect.

His passing is still very impressive regardless of only registering one assist, as he has averaged 83.5% passing accuracy. This isn’t the highest figure at Leeds or in the Championship but what it shows is that Klich is still showing great accuracy despite playing in a position where risks have to be taken on the ball to try to unlock the sternest of defences.

One aspect of the midfielder’s play that goes unnoticed is his hard work when Leeds don’t have the ball. The mileage he clocks is commendable in midfield to ensure teams struggle to counter-attack, but his pressing of opponents is where he shines as part of a defensive unit. In the 16 league games he has played this season, he has averaged 4.57 recoveries per game, showing his tenacity to win the ball back and start Leeds attacks regularly.