Vurnon Anita was loaned out to Eredivisie side Willem II by Marcelo Bielsa’s Championship leaders Leeds United.
Marcelo Bielsa made it clear when he took over at Leeds United that he would quickly set about reducing the size of his squad. He wasn’t lying.
By the time the transfer window shut, over 20 players had either been sold or loaned out, including Vurnon Anita.
Anita only arrived in the summer of 2017 on a free from Newcastle United but quickly fell out of favour once Bielsa arrived. The three-time Dutch international did not appear in any of Leeds’ match day squads before returning to the Eredivisie via a season-long loan spell at Willem II.
And the Yorkshire Evening Post has now cast light on why Anita was so rapidly discarded.
The former Ajax man has been lauded for his versatility throughout his career, filling in at central midfield and at full-back. But so can the youngster Jamie Shackleton, who has made his mark in the first-team this season in an unfamiliar right-back role.
And the YEP claims that Bielsa did not see the point of keeping hold of a 29-year-old when a promising youngster could do the same job and hone his talents in the process.
18-year-old Shackleton looks like being Leeds’ new utility man, thriving and assisting a goal from right-back in the recent 2-2 draw at Swansea City.
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