MOT View: Vital Leeds star has come long way since snubbing Radrizzani moral support in 2017
You will find it hard to name a more versatile player in the Leeds United squad than Northern Ireland international Stuart Dallas.
The ‘Cookstown Cafu’ has played in a variety of positions for Leeds this season, appearing at right-back, left-back, on both wings, central midfield and even a short stint at centre-back.
Dallas, 29, is one of the most important players in a small Marcelo Bielsa squad. Everyone knows that Bielsa likes to keep his group as small as possible so having players as versatile as Dallas is a huge bonus.
But no one would have really seen the ex-Brentford ace becoming a key player in Leeds’ bid to win automatic promotion just under three years ago when he failed to make Thomas Christiansen’s first matchday squad.
According to The Athletic, Dallas was less than happy at being left out of the season-opener against Bolton back in 2017.
Phil Hay writes that “you could feel Dallas prickling as he stood in a thick coat and took in the warm-up”. Hay added that Andrea Radrizzani even tried to console the 39-cap Northern Ireland ace, but the club owner was snubbed by a player who refused to be patronised.
That season, Dallas stared just 14 Championship fixtures when Christiansen and Paul Heckingbottom were in charge. Fast forward to this season and he has started all of the club’s 37 league games and only Ben White has completed more minutes (the Brighton loanee has played every minute of every match).
Dallas has come a long way since that day at Bolton and there’s no doubt that him and Radrizzani would look back and laugh at what happened in the tunnel.
Once football gets back underway and Leeds’ remaining nine fixtures are played, they could be celebrating promotion to the Premier League together.
In other Leeds United news, Paul Robinson has suggested what might hinder Leeds’ promotion bid.