Former Leeds United forward Noel Whelan has criticised Marcelo Bielsa's decision not to give youngster Clarke Odour more minutes over in Australia as part of their pre-season schedule.

The winger was selected to be part of the Whites squad that travelled over to Australia, where they would face both Manchester United and Western Sydney Wanderers ahead of the 2019/20 Championship campaign.

The youngster had shown glimpses of his quality last season, helping Carlos Corberan's under-23 side to the PDL North title, as well as being given a chance to impress in a late substitute cameo against QPR in the FA Cup.

But whilst the likes of Mateusz Bogusz, Alfie McCalmont and Robbie Gotts have all been given a chance to impress under Bielsa in pre-season, Odour played for only eight minutes against Western Sydney Wanderers, after being unused against Man United.

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan said: "I think everybody should be given a crack. If you’re taken out there, you expect to get minutes under your belt and a bit more experience and game time. You could have used as many subs as you want, it’s pre-season.

"At least give him that opportunity, at least give him the game time that he needs to get a good pre-season under their belt and football time in a real match. As a young player that’s done really well for the under-23s, he should be given the opportunity.

"You don’t want to fly all the way out to Australia and play mere minutes. Everybody’s got to have the same amount, the equal amount, the fair amount of time to prove themselves."

Leeds got back to winning ways on Saturday evening, defeating Wanderers by two goals to one thanks to strikes from Bogusz and Pablo Hernandez, as Bielsa's side prepare for their opening game of the season against Bristol City.

The Verdict

It was quite surprising to see Odour not being used over in Australia, as it begs the question as to why he was taken out there in the first place.

Of course, it's all about the performances in pre-season rather than the results, but building up match fitness is also key and if Odour is going to be a part of Bielsa's plans next season, then he should have played.

Playing against Man United would have been a great experience, but it seems as if the likes of Bogusz are ahead of him in the pecking order for upcoming youngsters.