Heckingbottom must unleash rarely seen Leeds 20-year-old to fire up clash v Sheffield Wednesday
COMMENT
Leeds fans jeered Jay-Roy Grot when he last turned out for the senior side in the Championship. It wasn't pretty.
And, after his £1.5million move from Nijmegen, he's still waiting for his first senior goal in 17 appearances.
However, it's time to give him his first Championship start on Saturday and see what he's really made of.
Before you say we're mad, hear us out.
There are two reasons why Jay-Roy Grot must be given a start against a poor Sheffield Wednesday side.
Firstly, he's on form. He banged in two goals for the Under-23s last week and that makes it the perfect time to try to give his confidence a boost at senior level.
Sheffield Wednesday have conceded more goals than any team in the top half of the league and the home crowd can surely inspire Grot.
At £1.5million he wasn't bought for the Under-23s and a few minutes here and a few minutes there isn't enough for anyone to prove he can score in England's second flight.
Also, Leeds have nothing to play for this season, except to give Heckingbottom a true idea of who he wants to keep and who needs to be binned in the summer.
Grot is young, powerful and has proved he can find the net, albeit not for Leeds in the league.
As a back-up to the main striker next season he could be invaluable to Heckingbottom's push for promotion, but he has to have a chance to shine. Saturday is it.
If not then, when? Some Leeds fans might not be happy to see his name on the teamsheet but we'd imagine they'll rally round him at Elland Road. And one goal could change everything for the youngster.
With nothing on the line, what has Heckingbottom got to lose?
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