Marcelo Bielsa suggests Leeds youngster Jamie Shackleton passed an important test

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Jamie Shackleton impressed a number of Leeds United supporters with his latest performance.

In comments reported by the Yorkshire Evening Post, Marcelo Bielsa has suggested that Jamie Shackleton has passed an important test this season, by impressing the Leeds first-team stars enough to be embraced by the key men at Elland Road.

Shackleton is the player that plenty of Whites supporters are raving about after Leeds’ 1-0 win against Derby County at the weekend. The 19-year-old came off the bench during the first-half after Adam Forshaw sustained an injury, and went on to produce an outstanding display as the Whites take a narrow advantage into Wednesday’s second-leg.

With Forshaw set to miss the rematch, Shackleton looks to be in pole position to get a start against the Rams. And ahead of the game, Bielsa explained that the academy graduate possesses a key attribute, having done enough to win over the first-team squad at Thorp Arch.

“Every time he played honestly we saw him and there is a detail that is very important to me – is how a player is accepted by his team mate. When the older players accept a new, young player it means that they like to have these players on their side,” he said, as reported by the Yorkshire Evening Post.

“When a young player finds his space in a top team, in the natural competition you have for the positions, the one who comes in moves someone else out of the team and that’s why from a team spirit the only way you accept the arrival of a young player is when he makes the team better and for me this happened very clearly with Jamie Shackleton.”

What has been so impressive about Shackleton’s form when he has featured for the first-team is how consistent he has been. Several of his appearances have been separated by lengthy gaps, and yet, he has played as if he has been playing for the senior side week-in, week-out.

And when you consider that he has played in a number of roles, it is not difficult to see why so many supporters are excited about his potential and what impact he may have in the play-offs.

And with Forshaw opening the door for the youngster to get a couple of games under his belt, perhaps this play-off campaign will be looked back upon as a defining moment in Shackleton’s Elland Road career.