O’Kane, Bridcutt and Hernandez have all been restricted to a watching brief of late, meaning Leeds are light in the middle.
With an ominous fixture schedule looming over the horizon, this was not the time for Leeds United to endure a central midfield crisis. Kalvin Phillips is suspended following his red card against Brighton while niggling injuries once again keep Eunan O’Kane and Pablo Hernandez on the sidelines.
Consequently, Garry Monk is weighing up whether to throw Liam Bridcutt in at the deep end against Reading tomorrow night, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post. The former Brighton enforcer is yet to make a single appearance since September but Leeds can’t afford to wait around any longer. On the flipside, they also can’t afford for Bridcutt to aggravate the broken foot that kept him out for three months.
And, while 18-year-old Ronaldo Vieira is proving that he can live up to his illustrious namesakes, Monk can take some solace in knowing that the January window is rolling around ever so slowly.
Therefore, claims from the Scottish Sun that Rangers manager Mark Warburton is ready to let 22-year-old Josh Windass leave after just a few relatively impressive months to fund his own transfer targets may not have passed Monk by.
In-form promotion chasers Newcastle United and Derby County are reported to have registered an impact but the ongoing absences within Leeds’s midfield mean that a player who netted 17 times for Accrington Stanley two seasons ago could prove a tempting proposition.
At 22-years-old, Windass fits Monk’s chosen profile; essentially young, promising talent with a point to prove.
Kyle Bartley and Pontus Jansson fit the bill superbly in the summer, providing the platform for an all-too-rare promotion push, and Monk may well be coerced into delving into the market to plug a worrying gap within his squad.
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