Journalist claims Bielsa ready to discard rarely-seen Leeds 27-year-old in January

Laurens De Bock isn't a name that will always spring to mind when thinking of Leeds United players from the past decade.

The Belgian full-back, 27, has never really caught the eye during his time at Elland Road, except for his debut against Millwall.

Leeds fans were not happy to see their side losing to a fierce rival, but the 10-men of the Whites somehow fought back but eventually ended up losing.

De Bock was everywhere in that game, and many started to believe the club had found a replacement for Charlie Taylor - something that definitely wasn't the case.

The Chronicle has reported that De Bock could return to Leeds in the January market from his loan spell at Sunderland, and that move would potentially open up a switch back to Belgium after a couple of years struggling for minutes in England.

"De Bock has effectively been discarded by Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa, but if he returned to Leeds it would open up the possibility of a January move to Belgium," reliable journalist James Hunter wrote.

That would make the most sense, with Leeds trying to balance their books over the next couple of years - players such as De Bock and Jay Roy Grot could be looking at the exit door.

There is no hiding from the fact that Leeds have had to sell players to keep in line with the financial fair play rules in the Championship.

High profile player such as Pontus Jansson, Ronaldo Vieira, and Jack Clarke have all been sold, so the exit of the rarely-seen De Bock would certainly not raise any eyebrows.

Bielsa should get rid of the Belgian now, as a senior player who is currently out on loan definitely isn't regarded as one who could be utilised.

In other Leeds United news, Southern club will not look to offload Leeds-linked forward in January