Is Cameron Borthwick-Jackson set for a Leeds United recall?
Leeds United fans could be forgiven for forgetting that they have a certain Cameron Borthwick-Jackson in their ranks. The 20-year-old defender joined Leeds on a season-long loan from Manchester United in August but has not kicked a ball for the Whites in almost a month.
But head coach Thomas Christiansen might well have to recall him to the first XI in Tuesday’s League Cup clash at Burnley, whether he was going to anyway or not.
Christiansen has a defensive crisis at centre-back. Liam Cooper missed the 1-0 defeat at Millwall with a back injury; Pontus Jansson pulled up with a suspected hamstring problem late on, and Matthew Pennington is not yet fully fit after missing a month of action.
Pennington and Cooper, according to the Leeds boss, are on the brink of returning but risking either at Turf Moor would be needless, while Jansson’s prognosis is not yet known.
As a result, Borthwick-Jackson, signed as a left-back but can play in central defence, could and probably should be ushered back into the fold for the trip to Burnley, where he might start alongside fellow rookie Conor Shaughnessy, who started at Millwall.
In an ideal world, Leeds would make it to the final of the competition, giving the fans a day out at Wembley in the new year, but the odds are heavily stacked against United in that regard and Christiansen needs to box smart in relation to who he picks on Tuesday.
They remain top of the Championship despite their first defeat of the season on Saturday, and there is simply too much optimism surrounding a potential promotion for Christiansen to rush back a Pennington or a Cooper for the sake of reaching the fourth round
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