Leeds United may have finally found the player to fill Lewis Cook’s shoes at Elland Road.
During a tenure of several questionable decisions, it seems that the one call that most Leeds fans do not plan to forgive former owner Massimo Cellino for is the sale of Lewis Cook to Bournemouth for an initial £6 million (via Guardian).
The 22-year-old is now an England international with almost 50 Premier League appearances under his belt. If he realises his full potential, the Cherries stand to make a frightening profit on the midfielder.
Generally, Leeds have actually done better in the Championship in the seasons since his departure. The Whites finished 15th and 13th during Cook’s two years in the first-team, and have since registered 7th and 13th place finishes. And of course, this year, Marcelo Bielsa’s side have a fantastic chance of securing promotion this term.
But the Whites’ improvement has clearly been in spite of Cook’s sale, rather than because of it.
However, perhaps Bielsa has actually stumbled upon a player who appears to have something like the potential to fill the void that Cook left.
Jamie Shackleton finally got the chance to make his first-team debut this season after several years of being considered one of the brightest talents in an academy often overflowing with potential.
Shackleton has often featured as a right-back under Bielsa, but there have been a few occasions when he has been given a chance in his natural position in central midfield – including during the 2-1 win at home to Swansea last time out when he came off the bench for the final 13 minutes.
The 19-year-old may not have been on the pitch for long, but there were glimpses of quality that arguably evoked memories of when Cook looked to be gliding across the Elland Road turf, seemingly running more comfortably when he had the ball at his feet than when he was without it.
There were also a couple of sublime passes from Shackleton, including one which provided Kemar Roofe with a good chance that he sent past the post.
There is no harm in Shackleton remaining a right-back option for Bielsa, but it was the kind of cameo that may leave the Leeds boss wondering whether it is worth continuing to use the youngster predominantly as a midfielder moving forward.
It is too soon to suggest that Shackleton will be able to hold down a first-team spot like Cook was able to. But there are undoubtedly some uncanny similarities between the pair, and that is a seriously exciting prospect with Bielsa showing more and more faith in Shackleton as the season continues.
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