According to Adam Pope, it is “annoying” that players who have previously left Leeds United without making a significant impact are performing so well elsewhere when the club still has issues at left-back.
On Don’t Go To Bed Just Yet on 18 December, the BBC Sport journalist said to “blame Victor” Orta for Niall Huggins‘ strong performance as a left wing-back against the Whites, who were beaten by Sunderland on Tuesday (12 December) and have Ipswich Town’s Leif Davis up next (23 December).
Davis has 11 Championship assists this season after completing a permanent move in the summer, with Leeds currently playing Djed Spence out of position due to injuries to Sam Byram and Junior Firpo.
“They’ve got a really good left-back who’s got the most assists for them, I think, 11 assists,” Rix said knowingly of the side second in the table (30m 10s).
Pope responded by saying, “Isn’t this annoying, you’ve got Leif Davis doing well and I thought Niall Huggins played well the other night for Sunderland.”
“Go and get one of them,” Jonny Buchan joked.
“Blame Victor,” Pope said.
Ships sailed
The club’s continued failure to address the left-back position since Ezgjan Alioski’s departure two and a half years ago remains one of the more vexing issues at Elland Road.
Firpo‘s arrival from Barcelona was supposed to solve the problem right away, but his form and fitness record have prevented him from ever being the answer, despite the fact that he was the only specialist signed at the time.
Byram‘s free transfer return in the summer appeared to have addressed the issue unexpectedly, as the right-back did well on the left during the first half of the season, but his long-term injury issues have returned to keep him out of action.
His use there follows a long list of stop-gap solutions, including Stuart Dallas, Pascal Struijk, Max Wober, Leo Hjelde, and Jamie Shackleton, none of which have proven to be sustainable for various reasons.
Given their obscurity at Elland Road, Leeds United‘s “seven-figure fee” for Davis, 23, in the summer [East Anglian Daily Times], or the “undisclosed fee” for Huggins, 23, two years earlier [Chronicle Live], may not have enraged many fans.
However, the collective failure of Orta and successive managers to find an answer from the club’s options when Davis now appears to be the exact type of player the Whites require at the ongoing problem position will be a source of great frustration.
Another former Leeds defender, Charlie Taylor, has been linked with a return ahead of the January transfer window, but it remains to be seen whether the club is finally ready to fill the gap properly.
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