At a Championship rival in January, Scott Wootton now proving undroppable

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The Leeds defender is enjoying a solid run at right-back.

Scott Wootton has had his critics at Leeds United this season.

And, in January, the 23-year-old wasn’t anywhere near the first-team picture at Elland Road. He was, in fact, in the first team at Rotherham United.

Now, though, Wootton is a regular fixture at right back for Leeds, forcing a natural right-back in Gaetano Berardi to switch flanks and drawing deserved praise from boss Neil Redfearn.

The defender earned a new contract earlier this year and a huge advantage of him playing out wide is the freedom it gives Sam Byram to go forward ahead of him.

But, as Opta stats show, the 23-year-old himself is getting plenty of joy going forward – not just through allowing Byram to express himself down the right…

No one has averaged more final-third entries than Wootton since he returned to Elland Road from his loan spell at Rotherham, nor has anyone been more involved in terms of overall play – judging by the amount of touches he takes.

The defender’s tally of successful passes in the final third, too, compares favourably with his team-mates.

Defensively, the Leeds man perhaps needs work with his tackling – but his average of interceptions per game beats most, while his tally of clearances per game is also impressive and only beaten by Redfearn’s centre-backs (Sol Bamba, not included, makes more, too).

Combine all the above with the most important stat of all – Leeds have kept three clean sheets in a row – and Wootton’s role within the United side becomes clear. He provides a much-needed presence indeed.