Darren Fletcher has raved about Leeds United star Stuart Dallas, as quoted in Leeds Live.
The former Manchester United and West Bromwich Albion midfielder – who now works as a pundit for BBC Sport – was impressed with the display produced by Dallas in Leeds’s 1-0 win against Sheffield United away from home in the Premier League at the weekend.
Fletcher believes that Dallas – who is a winger by trade, but has been superb for Leeds at left-back – is an underrated player and is perfect for head coach Marcelo Bielsa.
Leeds Live quotes Fletcher as saying: “That’s the flexibility and freedom that they (Leeds) have got. Their midfielders can go everywhere.
“He (Bielsa) wants interaction, he wants wide players coming in, he likes midfielders running beyond. So he (Dallas) played like a normal midfielder. Credit to him. To be tactical that versatile is perfect for somebody like Bielsa.
“But not only does he do it in preparation for games, they’re constantly changing throughout the game, off the back of other team’s formation changes. I can’t speak highly enough of his performances. An underrated player throughout the league – but not by Leeds fans.”
Stats
According to WhoScored, Dallas has played in all three of Leeds’s Premier League games so far this season.
Against the Blades on Sunday, Dallas took three shots and all of them were on target, played one key pass, had a pass accuracy of 84.4%, won one header, took 92 touches, made one interception, and put in four crosses, according to WhoScored.
During the 2019-20 campaign, the 29-year-old Northern Ireland international made 45 appearances in the Championship, scoring five goals and providing three assists in the process, according to WhoScored.
Patrick Bamford comments on his goal
Meanwhile, Leeds striker Patrick Bamford has spoken about the goal he scored against United, and has stated what he told his teammate Jack Harrison before the match.
Bamford told Leeds’s official website: “The goal came off my nose, but I will take it. To be honest I was a bit disappointed I didn’t score the header which went over in the first half, but it is important we got the three points and I was happy to score.
“Before the game I said to Jack Harrison, ‘every time you get the ball, I’m going between the middle centre back and the far one, so put the ball there’. In the first half he did it and I didn’t score and in the second half he did it and I got the goal, so fair play to him for putting it on the money.”
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