MOT View: Harte makes bizarre claim about rarely-seen Leeds player with 0 league starts in 19/20
Ian Harte has bizarrely claimed that Leif Davis is the best left-back that Marcelo Bielsa has in his squad at Leeds United.
Davis, 20, has barely played for the Leeds first-team, making just 10 senior appearances in his entire career.
Half of those appearances have come this season when he’s played three times off the bench in the Championship and started twice in the Carabao Cup.
However there is no way that Harte can make such a strong claim about the Newcastle-born defender as there is such little evidence to support it.
Stuart Dallas, Barry Douglas and Ezgjan Alioski have all played at left-back for Leeds this season and, to be fair, Douglas is the only natural in that position.
Douglas has spent a lot of the season sidelined by injury and even when he has been fit, Dallas has been able to keep him out of the side because he’s played so well at left-back under Bielsa.
It doesn’t matter that Dallas is not a left-back by trade – he can still do a better job at left-back than Davis would if he played more.
Ex-Leeds star Harte is clearly well-poised to discuss this as he used to play as a left-back for the Whites.
But we just cannot understand his thinking here.
“They bought Barry Douglas from Wolves and he was amazing for them – he was by far the best left-back in the league,” Harte told Football League World.
“But he’s got injured and it’s one of those positions that the manager has chopped and changed and played everyone else at left-back whether it’s been Stuart Dallas, Leif Davis or Gjanni Alioski.
“I personally think that the best one at the club is the young lad, Leif Davis.
“He is a top, top player – but I’m not the manager of Leeds United, that’s his decision.”
If Leeds had a game to play this weekend and had all of their left-back options available, who would Bielsa name to start?
Obviously, it would be Dallas.
And surely, if Harte was asked that question, he would also pick Dallas.
People need to understand that with Bielsa, players are not restricted to a single position.
Dallas has played on both sides of the back-four, both wings and even as a central midfielder this season. He has no defined position.
He’s one of the best wingers at Elland Road but he is also the best left-back that the club has too.
In other Leeds United news, since leaving Leeds, this player’s value has skyrocketed to £9million.