adminJean-Matteo Bahoya came off the bench to find the net for France’s Under-21s in their victory over Estonia on Tuesday.
Leeds United signed Bahoya, 21, on transfer deadline day in September, with the attacker joining the Yorkshire club on an initial loan deal from Frankfurt.
Leeds have the option to make Bahoya’s move permanent next summer, but the left-winger has hardly featured for the Whites since completing his transfer.
He made his Leeds debut in the final match before the international break against Crystal Palace last week, entering the game as a late substitute.
In that 0-0 draw, Bahoya managed just four touches of the ball, meaning Leeds supporters did not really have enough time to judge what kind of signing he could prove to be over the long term.
However, he made a considerably bigger impression in his most recent outing as a substitute.
What happened in Jean-Matteo Bahoya’s latest France U21s display
Ethan Mbappe was forced to leave the pitch with an injury in the 12th minute, allowing Bahoya to enter the game and play almost the entire match in U21 European Championships qualifying.
He scored his goal – his third overall for France’s U21s – in the 68th minute to complete a win that should have been far more emphatic, particularly after Estonia were reduced to 10 men in the 28th minute.
Following the match, French news outlet football.fr praised the influence Bahoya had, saying that the Leeds forward “shone” throughout his appearance, while Foot Mercato described his attacking play as “dangerous” and highlighted the “well-placed shot” that ended up in the back of the net.
Sport 365 said the Leeds player was “very lively” after his early introduction and “perfectly” picked out the bottom corner with his effort.
He and Steve Ngoura were also reported to have created “havoc” down the right flank of France’s attack.
What does this mean for Leeds?
It is certainly encouraging to see Bahoya performing so well for France’s U21s.
That said, it is important to remember that his impressive display came against an Estonia U21s team that spent most of the contest with 10 players.
A convincing French victory would have been expected, yet the final result was nowhere near as comprehensive as it could have been, with Bahoya also failing to convert some other chances.
Nevertheless, the Frankfurt loanee appears to be fully fit again, and there is a strong possibility that he will receive considerably more minutes for Leeds once the international break concludes and he returns to West Yorkshire.
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