Conor Shaughnessy’s inclusion in the Leeds United starting lineup for the clash against Millwall arguably hinted at how highly rated he is.
When Leeds fans looked at the fixture list at the start of the season, they would have known that the away trip to Millwall would have presented one of their first tough tests of the campaign given that the Whites have won just once from their previous eight trips to The Den.
Therefore, it could be argued that Thomas Christiansen’s decision to hand Conor Shaughnessy a starting spot against the Lions in the game was a tremendous and significant show of faith from the boss towards the youngster.
Although Liam Cooper was injured for the game and Matthew Pennington is not yet back playing first-team football after he limped out of Leeds’ opening day win over Bolton, Christiansen arguably had options available to him that meant that Shaughnessy did not have to start.
Right-back Luke Ayling, left-back Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and utility man Vurnon Anita could have all arguably played in the middle, and there would have been sufficient cover in each of their favoured positions for them to move across.
Ayling, in particular, is experienced at centre-back so it would not have been a shock to the Whites supporters if he had partnered Pontus Jansson at The Den.
But Shaughnessy being handed his second league start of the season confirmed that he is very much high up on Christiansen’s pecking order, and while the result was not perfect, his inclusion was arguably vindicated as he did fairly well, especially as you could still count on one hand how many league appearances he has made for the side.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
