By Nnamdi Onyeagwara

28th Jul, 2022 | 11:10am

Leeds United midfielder Shackleton reveals discussion with Jesse Marsch that led to exit

Leeds midfielder Jamie Shackleton has revealed the discussion that led to him leaving the club to join Millwall on loan this summer.

The 22-year-old had reduced game time last season, and has moved to the club seeking to play more consistently and continue his progress.

However, the midfielder has now opened up about a discussion he had with manager Jesse Marsch that confirmed that he needed to leave the club. [Leeds Live]

Shackleton said: “I spoke with Jesse and between us we decided that the most important thing at this stage of my career is to play football, which I already had in my mind.

“That’s what I enjoy doing and that’s what I want to be doing non-stop.

“That was a key part of the decision to join.”

Shackleton needs gametime

The move should be a good one for a youngster who clearly has quality but needs minutes to continue to grow as a player.

Shackleton, who has been at the club since the age of nine, broke into the Leeds team as a teenager at 18, excelling in midfield while the club were in the Championship.

He has since gone on to make 78 appearances for the club in total, but in recent years has seen his game time dry up since the club has become a Premier League outfit.

Shackleton very rarely sufferers from injury problems, only missing four games in 2020/21 with a minor knock, a statistic that makes his lack of minutes even more confusing.

Simply put, he has never been given the full trust of either former manager, Marcelo Bielsa, or Marsch, and has found that most of his minutes have come from the bench.

However, now he returns to the division where he made his name, and if he can get consistent game time at the Den hopefully he can re-find his feet and begin to deliver on his potential.

In other Leeds United news, the club are reportedly interested in Manchester City wonderkid James McAtee.