Jamie Shackleton was arguably one of Leeds United’s best players in their most recent pre-season game.
A handful of Leeds’ youngsters may be kicking themselves somewhat after squandering a golden opportunity to impress Marcelo Bielsa during the Whites’ pre-season clash with Oxford United on Tuesday.
Bielsa picked a handful of senior players against the League One side, and filled the rest of the squad out with many of those who helped Carlos Corberan’s under-23 side enjoy a superb season last year.
A 4-3 defeat probably does not tell the full story of a game that saw Leeds’ defence perform incredibly poorly during the first-half before a second-half fightback salvaged some of the side’s respect.
But while some may have played themselves down the pecking order ahead of the coming season, there were a handful of players who must have impressed Bielsa at the Kassam Stadium – and one of those players was surely Jamie Shackleton.
The 18-year-old midfielder must look at the options ahead of him in the squad right now and wonder what chance he has of breaking into the side this season, but he staked a claim to come into consideration with a very impressive performance at right-back.
Shackleton looked dangerous going forward, providing one assist, and seemed to do everything that was asked of him defensively. It would be a surprise if he was considered to be a main understudy to Luke Ayling, but his versatility must have impressed the new head coach.
He looked relatively comfortable in the role. So while the likes of Tyler Roberts and Jack Clarke may have stolen some of the headlines, it was perhaps Shackleton who was the youngster who provided the most pleasant surprise on a mixed night for Leeds.
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