Lewie Coyle continues to shine in League One for Fleetwood Town – and his contract at Championship title-chasers Leeds United expires next year.
Leeds United should be right at the top of Joey Barton’s Christmas card list this year.
Yet again, the Fleetwood Town boss is enjoying the services of League One’s most impressive right-back without spending a single penny. Coyle has been on loan at Highbury since the summer of 2017 and, after winning over Barton with his attitude and versatility last season, the Cod Army jumped at the chance to bring him back to the North West for a third spell.
And Fleetwood’s 2018 Player of the Year has certainly picked up where he left off.
Coyle provided his first assist of the new season with an inch-perfect cross which Paddy Madden feathered into the far corner to give Barton’s promotion-chasing side a 2-0 win against Accrington Stanley on Saturday.
In fact, anyone who has watched Coyle rampaging down the wing in Fleetwood colours will be wondering why the 25-year-old has never been given a chance under Marcelo Bielsa at his parent club.
First-choice right-back Luke Ayling has endured his fair share of fitness problems in recent months and he’s yet to make an appearance in 2019/20 with Stuart Dallas, a winger by trade, forced to fill in at right-back.
Dallas has performed admirably, converting a glorious Pablo Hernandez pass in Leeds’ 3-0 win at Stoke City on Saturday, but he’s hardly a natural in the most physically and tactically demanding of roles.
So what more does Coyle have to do to get the chance he surely deserves? With his contract expiring next summer, this is the academy graduate’s last chance to catch Bielsa’s eye.
The Argentine famously admires players with the versatility to play in a variety of roles and the fact that Coyle has impressed at Fleetwood not only at right-back but in midfield too certainly stands him in good stead.
But is it too little too late?
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