Player claims he ‘could have stayed’ at Leeds despite 20/21 exit
Loaned-out Leeds United left-back Barry Douglas has revealed why he decided to join Blackburn Rovers despite the Whites earning promotion to the Premier League.
The Scottish left-back made 15 appearances in the Championship last season as Leeds won the title, but saw Ezgjan Alioski and Stuart Dallas regularly preferred to him.
Douglas started Leeds’ EFL Cup second round tie against Hull City in September, before leaving on loan for Blackburn the following month.
“Football is a short career, I’d never rest on my laurels,” Douglas told the Lancashire Telegraph.
“I could have stayed at Leeds, I was wanted to stay and compete for a place, but I wasn’t guaranteed football. I felt the onus was on me to make that decision and that’s the way that I approach things. I don’t want to be comfortable, I want to go and challenge myself and that’s how I address things.”
Valuable option
The left-back position has seen plenty of rotation in recent seasons under Marcelo Bielsa, with Alioski and Dallas both used in the role, despite it not being their natural role.
Douglas’ preferred position is left-back, and he claims that the Argentine wanted him to stay, but it seems that Bielsa still favours the other two options he had at his disposal.
The 31-year-old has outstanding quality from dead-ball situations but lacks the athleticism of a player like Dallas, who has started in the role in the majority of Leeds’ opening seven Premier League fixtures.
The fear is that with Dallas often called upon to cover at right-back, as he has done when Luke Ayling shifted to centre-back, or in midfield, an injury to either him or Alioski could see Bielsa short in the position.
Kalvin Phillips’ absence has created an issue at the base of midfield, and with Douglas now out the door, left-back could provide a similar problem.
In other Leeds United news, MOT View: Bielsa must learn from simple but effective Leicester after struggling Leeds display