Lee Johnson comments on problem of Leeds youngster, report suggests he could target 20y/o
Bristol City manager Lee Johnson has commented on Leeds United midfielder Jamie Shackleton when explaining the club’s academy status.
Johnson claimed it should be hard for youngsters to get into the side of any Championship team, referencing Shackleton and his lack of appearances.
Shackleton has suffered with a couple of injuries this season and has only made 14 appearances in the league – four of those starts under Marcelo Bielsa.
Johnson claimed that Leeds are on their way to promotion to the Premier League, something which he named as a reason behind Shackleton’s lack of minutes.
“I don’t like to name names because we’ve got a lot of good players in the academy,” he told the Bristol Post.
“That production line is very important – but also it should be difficult to get in Bristol City’s team. It’s the same at West Brom and Leeds. Look at Jamie Shackleton at Leeds. A very good player – can’t get in. Can’t get in because Leeds are flying and probably going to the Premier League.”
The 20-year-old last started a Championship game in October in the 1-0 win against West Brom and has only completed 54 minutes of action since.
Shackleton has seen more action recently, becoming a frequent substitute towards the end of games to replace tiring players such as Pablo Hernandez.
The youngster has been getting many minutes with the under-23s as well, something that has seen his fitness return fully and hands Bielsa a great option off the bench with Adam Forshaw absent.
The Bristol Post even went as far as to suggest that Shackleton could be a future target for Johnson, something that would surely get laughed at by Leeds.
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