Ryan Edmondson and Jack Clarke latest explained with competition fierce at Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds United

WAITING GAME: Leeds United winger Jack Clarke. Photo by George Wood/Getty Images.

A £9 MILLION pound Premier League footballer is failing to even make Leeds United’s bench at present.

It’s the same for a striker who bagged 18 goals for the club’s title-winning under-23s last term.

But Marcelo Bielsa is constantly watching the likes of Jack Clarke and Ryan Edmondson with the Whites head coach encouraged by the strong competition for places within his squad.

Clarke has been the big-name omission from United’s match-day 18 for the club’s last three league games with the Tottenham Hotspur loanee so far limited to two outings in the Carbao Cup against Salford City and Stoke City.

Despite the obvious priority of chasing promotion to the Premier League, it was a competition Bielsa was keen to have a sustained run in.

After two rounds, that run is already over following Tuesday night’s 5-4 loss on penalties to the Potters at Elland Road after a thrilling 2-2 draw.

Bielsa could not hide his disappointment in his post-match press conference.

“For us, it was very important to stay in this competition,” said the Whites head coach.

The 64-year-old Argentinian had hoped for further Carabao Cup ties to offer more game time to those not currently in United’s league XI or even on the bench.

Clarke is a case a point.

Edmondson too, though last season’s under-23s top scorer, has yet to make any bench so far this season.

Bielsa, though, says the door is very much open with the South American putting in as much work and analysis as possible before making his selections, which, he says, are always open to being wrong.