Former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan has insisted that midfielder Mateusz Klich must start adding more goals to his game following a disappointing season in front of goal for the Poland international.

Klich has started every game in the Championship for Marcelo Bielsa's promotion-chasing side this term, but the midfielder has only netted three times so far compared to his total of 10 league goals during the Whites' unsuccessful promotion bid last season.

The 29-year-old has now not found the target for the Elland Road outfit since his brace in the 4-0 win over Middlesbrough back in November, but he did play an important role during the Whites' 1-0 victory over Reading on Saturday afternoon.

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan has claimed that there is still more to come from Klich despite his consistent displays, with Whelan pinpointing the midfielder's confidence in front of goal as a clear area for improvement.

“I think there’s more in him again though, there’s more in that player,” Whelan said.

“There’s more goal-scoring capacity in him, considering he got into double figures last year, when it comes to goal scoring he’s had great chances as well, he should have a lot more goals to his name.

“That’s one area he can improve on and I’m sure he’d want more goals himself. He needs to shoot more from outside the box like he did last year, he needs to trust himself. It seems that goal-scoring confidence has gone."

Klich has now made 34 appearances for Leeds during their automatic-promotion bid this campaign, with the Whites currently sitting five points clear of third-placed Fulham following their win over Reading courtesy of Pablo Hernandez's effort.

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The Verdict

Klich will always be such an important player for Leeds whether he is scoring goals regularly or not, with the midfielder playing a key role in Bielsa's high-press system which has produced such success over the last two seasons at Elland Road.

The Poland international also deserves plenty of praise for his performances in recent weeks which have helped pull Leeds out of their difficult spell, but Whelan is still correct in that Klich could certainly do with adding more goals to his game.

It is true that Klich's main function in the team is not solely to score goals, but Bielsa will certainly need some of his midfielders to pop up with goals between now and the end of the season, so perhaps Klich should start backing his long-range shooting abilities.