{{primary_category}}
{{/primary_category}} 
Jamie Shackleton 'almost done' at Leeds United with Millwall option-to-buy in place
Jamie Shackleton doesn’t expect to be a Leeds United player much longer with the midfielder currently on loan at Millwall, according to Phil Hay.
Writing on The Athletic website on Tuesday (20 September), Hay reported that Shackleton, 22, has had his chance at Elland Road but now he “knows that he and the club are almost done”.
Millwall are said to have an option-to-buy clause in place in Shackleton’s loan agreement at The Den.
Let him go
It’ll be the best move for everyone if Shackleton leaves next summer.
The Leeds-born midfielder has started nine of Millwall’s 10 Championship matches this season either as a holding player or as a right wing-back.
Subscribe to Football Insider TV now
Millwall manager Gary Rowett has raved about Shackleton too, saying in July: “He’s got great energy. The beauty for me is that he is a player who offers you energetic, non-stop play in the middle of the pitch. That’s his best position, in my opinion, in one of those three midfield positions – either the two deeper ones or the number 10. However, he’s also played at right-back and right-wing-back in the Premier League, so he offers flexibility.”
Based on the fact he’s playing regularly and completed 90 minutes in each of the London club’s last three games, there’s a good chance that they’ll trigger that option-to-buy clause next summer based on the current evidence.
Shackleton is not a Premier League player.
Although he has 79 appearances in all competitions for Leeds – with 27 of them coming in the Premier League – there was never a suggestion he should be a regular starter.
Shackleton’s versatility made him a good option for Marcelo Bielsa but since the Argentine was sacked last season, opportunities have been hard to come by and a sale makes sense.
Shackleton should do well at a club in the Championship, whether it’s Millwall or someone else.
He’s still young too so the door isn’t completely closed on him playing in the Premier League in the future either.
We wish him all the best in whatever direction his career takes him at the end of this season.
In other Leeds United news, a Sky Sports pundit has reacted to Gary Neville’s suggestion that the 49ers’ potential ownership at Leeds would be a problem.