By Will Dodds

30th Oct, 2020 | 10:33am

'Big attacking threat' - Manager heaps praise on young Leeds loanee

Bryce Hosannah has impressed Bradford City boss Stuart McCall since arriving on loan at the club from Leeds United.

The right-back joined the Bantams in September and has now made three appearances for the side in League Two.

Aged just 21, Hosannah has been at Elland Road since 2017 and is now taking his first steps in competitive football.

Speaking earlier this week, the Bradford manager said that they were being cautious with his fitness, but are impressed with his quality.

“I thought he really performed well,” McCall told the Telegraph and Argus.

“He showed that he was a big attacking threat for us down the right-hand side, other than putting the ball in the back of the net which his performance merited.

“We’ve got to be careful with him because he was flat out back and forth. We need to look at his data. We can’t over-push him or anyone because of what’s been happening with playing games Saturday and Tuesday every week. But he’s started really brightly for us, that’s for sure.”

Way to go

The news coming out of Bradford is certainly encouraging. At 21, it is really crucial that Hosannah starts to get more regular football after being restricted to the Under-23s at Leeds.

In his three appearances so far, Hosannah has averaged one dribble, one cross, 1.3 shots and 0.3 key passes per match, evidence of his offensive intent.

With a pass completion rate of 79.3%, he rates in the top five in the squad, while he even played from the right side of Bradford’s 3-4-3 formation as a wing-back in their 1-0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers.

The step back up to the Premier League is a large one, but the early signs are definitely good so far.

In other Leeds United news, Bielsa gave debut to one Leeds player after admitting he didn’t know if he was ‘any good’