The £21m signing - fully fit after a pre-season hamstring injury - opened the scoring with a fantastic strike in Wednesday's 3-1 Carabao Cup victory over Barnsley, which has earned United a trip to Wolves.

Sinisterra, making his first start, endeared himself to the vast majority of the 35,572 crowd with a quality opener and earned the penalty which was converted by Mateusz Klich to make it 2-0 after he was brought down by Conor McCarthy.

He also was involved in United's key third and was given rapturous applause when he left the stage on 62 minutes.

Luis Sinisterra scores Leeds opening goal and goes to his knees in celebration. Picture Bruce Rollinson

Maric said: "He's a great player, great guy. I’m happy he was able to reward himself after injury and the way he trains. There's a lot more to come from him.

“You see he is not as present as he could be during the game.

"Other players did very well in previous games. It's a good squad, depth and roster. It's hard for others if he keeps this up."

Klich's two-goal salvo was another positive on a night when Leeds made nine changes from the win over Chelsea.

Ratings: How Leeds United and Barnsley FC players fared at Elland Road

Maric added: "There's been a lot of talks with him. He's very committed. The locker room in general is very, very good. "He's a personality in training. He came on against Wolves and Southampton and is a very good player. He showed it today and did exceptionally well."

Leeds United coach insists ‘there’s a lot more to come’ from Luis Sinisterra