Leeds United ‘problem position’ verdict shared as Daniel Farke ‘headache’ mooted
Left-back is a “problem position” for Leeds United, and has been for some time, according to Leeds Live journalist William Jackson.
It is an issue that could give Leeds boss Daniel Farke a “headache” for the upcoming meeting with Millwall, Jackson added.
The Whites travel to The Den on Sunday (17 September) to take on The Lions in Championship action, with the hosts one point ahead of the visitors in the table.
“It’s been considered to be a problem position for so long but Farke might find himself picking between three legitimate options at left-back on Sunday,” Jackson wrote for Leeds Live. “Jamie Shackleton more than looked the part against Sheffield Wednesday in the role and he’ll rightly feel as though he’s done enough to nail down the spot for another weekend at the very least.
“However, Farke’s selection could be complicated by the fitness of Junior Firpo and Sam Byram, who are both pushing to be fit for the contest. Byram had the position secured before suffering a minor injury at Ipswich Town and he could well come straight back into the line-up if he is considered fit enough to do so.
“Firpo, though, is the only specialist left-back within the group and he looks set to be in contention as soon as he’s shaken off the injury that has ruled him out of the season so far. The Dominican has struggled for form at Elland Road over the last two years but the hope is that the drop down in level might help to bring out his best.”
Plenty of options
New Whites boss Farke has seemingly gone from having a problem position to having plenty of options at left-back, helped of course by players returning from injury.
The West Yorkshire club have been really unlucky in terms of injuries in recent times, with the likes of senior stars Liam Cooper and Stuart Dallas currently among those sidelined.
So the return of either Firpo or Byram – or of course both – would be a massive boost for the man in the dugout for the highly-anticipated encounter against Millwall.
Shackleton has certainly filled in well in the absence of the injured duo, with Farke having used Leo Hjelde in the role earlier in the season.
Selection headaches may seem a bad thing at first, but the manager should welcome such problems, with competition for places only going to be a good thing for a club that wants to get back into the Premier League.
In other Leeds United news, a journalist has mooted a “contentious” Whites starting XI dilemma, with one new player not at Elland Road “to be a sub.”