Leeds United allowed Lewie Coyle to stay out on loan for the rest of the season.
With Luke Ayling not long back from injury and Jamie Shackleton doing well whenever asked to play at right-back, few Leeds fans seemed to be particularly confused by the Whites’ January decision to extend Lewie Coyle’s loan at Fleetwood to the end of the campaign.
Coyle has enjoyed a successful spell at Highbury and is now reaching an age where he will be targeting regular first-team football. At Leeds it seemed, there was little chance of that game-time coming his way.
But with the dust barely settled following the closure of the transfer window, perhaps it is already starting to look like a mistake to allow Coyle to stay with the League One side until the summer.
Ayling’s form since his return from injury has been a major disappointment. He has certainly not looked like the player that was one of the signings of the season during Garry Monk’s tenure.
Plenty of the Elland Road faithful are imploring Marcelo Bielsa to use Shackleton in the role for the time-being. The youngster has never let the side down whatever position he has been used in, and Leeds perhaps cannot afford for Ayling’s form to continue as it is.
But having a natural right-back to take Ayling’s place would have been beneficial. Gaetano Berardi is still injured and Bryce Hosannah is yet to make his senior debut – which is not ideal in the midst of a promotion battle.
Like Shackleton, Coyle had rarely put in an underwhelming performance when he did feature, and he is one of Fleetwood’s most consistent players.
If Ayling can turn his form around, then leaving Coyle out on loan was clearly the right decision. But as things stand, Bielsa would be forgiven for wondering if the youngster should have been brought back into the fold.
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