Leeds United ended their three-year stay in the Premier League at the end of the 2022/23 campaign as they were relegated back down to the Championship.
The Whites had been promoted to the top-flight back in the summer of 2020 after Marcelo Bielsa led the team to the second division title in his second season at the club.
He was a huge success at Elland Road and made a number of impressive decisions over the course of his stay in Yorkshire, including the sale of former Leeds star Samu Saiz, who he played a blinder with.
Samu Saiz's career at Leeds
The club swooped to sign the Spanish maestro from Huesca in the summer of 2017, and he caught the eye throughout his debut season in England under Thomas Christiansen and, then, Paul Heckingbottom.
Often deployed as a number ten in a 4-2-3-1 system, the right-footed whiz offered quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals throughout the 2017/18 campaign.
Appearances
34
Goals
5
Assists
7
Big chances created
9
Key passes per game
1.9
Dribbles completed per game
2.4
As you can see in the table above, the Whites midfielder was a star for the club with contributions at the top end of the pitch, given that he led the team in dribbles per match and was second only to Pablo Hernandez in key passes per game.
Bielsa then arrived in the summer of 2018 and described Sainz as the "most skilled" player in the squad. However, the Spaniard failed to hit the same heights in front of goal with a return of zero goals and four assists in 19 Championship appearances during the first half of the campaign.
The Argentine boss was ruthless in his approach as he allowed the attacking midfielder to leave on loan to join Getafe for the second half of the season, before cashing in on a permanent basis in the summer of 2019.
Where Samu Saiz plays now
It was reported that the talented gem was not settled in Leeds and wanted a return to his home country. Instead of trying to convince the 5 foot 9 star to remain at Elland Road, Bielsa – and sporting director Victor Orta – allowed him to sign for Girona on a permanent deal ahead of the 2019/20 campaign.
Saiz went on to produce 12 goals and 17 assists in 119 appearances for the Spanish outfit, with the majority of those games coming in the second division in Spain, before his move to Sivasspor in Turkey in January 2023.
He racked up an eye-catching nine goals and seven assists in 35 outings for the club, and then made the switch to Eyupspor in January of this year.
The former Leeds whiz is, therefore, now playing in the second tier of football in Turkey, with his current club sitting at the top of the table as it stands.
Saiz has contributed with one goal and zero assists in seven league outings for Eyupspor, and lost 72% of his duels, since his move from Sivasspor in January.
Overall, Bielsa played a blinder with the sale of the Spanish wizard as his career never really kicked on after his spell in Yorkshire, with a long spell in Spain's second tier before a transfer to Turkey – outside of Europe's major leagues – and now their second tier, whilst Leeds went on to win promotion to the Premier League.