Bielsa brought Raphinha on off the bench at half time of Leeds’ 4-1 loss at Crystal Palace on Saturday, and Whelan was impressed with what he saw from the Brazilian.
He admits that he was excited when he heard Leeds were set to sign Raphinha in the transfer window and thinks the winger has given hints of what he can do.
Whelan now believes that Bielsa should slot Raphinha into the starting line-up and give him his chance.
“I think Raphinha when he came on gave us a different dimension”, he said on BBC Radio Leeds.
“He showed his class, showed his skill, some really tight control of the ball, driving inside, linking up with players, switching the play, range of passing.
“He is someone that really excited me when I knew he was coming to Leeds United.
“We’ve seen little glimpses. We saw a lot more of him this evening when he came on and I do feel that he had a lot to offer.
“I’d like to see him start and give him that opportunity.”
Bielsa has the international break to now consider whether to include Raphinha in his Leeds team to face Arsenal later this month, as he bids to stop the Whites losing three games in a row.
