It seems bizarre to even consider, but Jack Clarke might not even make the squad for Leeds United on a regular basis going forward.
United re-signed the 18-year-old winger on a season-long loan from Tottenham Hotspur in July.
So far, Clarke has been an unused substitution in Leeds’ first two Championship games – away to Bristol City last week, and home to Nottingham Forest.
Problem is, the Whites also now have Eddie Nketiah on loan and it seems like it’ll be a battle between him and Clarke to make the squad every week.
That’s because Leeds can only name five loanees in a matchday 18 – and they signed six.
New keeper Illan Meslier and centre-back Ben White are guaranteed to be there, which means there’s only three more spots for Helder Costa, Jack Harrison, Clarke and Nketiah. One must be disappointed.
Costa and Harrison are a lot more important for Marcelo Bielsa than Clarke at the moment, and Nketiah, who joined on a season-long loan from Arsenal on deadline, will be United’s covering option for an injury-prone striker, Patrick Bamford.
There is an argument to be made that Clarke is the least important of Bielsa’s six loanees and, by the same token, he’s the one who might be sacrificed most weeks.
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