OPINION
After months watching his teammates from the sidelines there will be no doubting that Leeds United winger Stuart Dallas will be over the moon to get back to playing in the first team.
As revealed by manager Marcelo Bielsa, the Northern Irish international will be part of the Whites’ squad who take on Bolton Wanderers this weekend, having not played since December due to a broken bone in his foot.
Speaking to Leeds Live, the boss said: “For Stuart Dallas it was a little less hard for him to recover his sports performance fitness. He will be in the group for Saturday’s game.”
A versatile option, the 27-year-old has bags of experience to call upon but that does not make up for his lack of overall quality.
His performances over the past season and a half have not been up to scratch and with Jack Clarke now on the scene – the youngster missing against Bolton due to worries over his fitness – as well as Jack Harrison impressing with his performances, Dallas’ place in the squad is under more scrutiny than ever.
When everyone is fit, would the 34-cap wide man make it into the match day 18? Probably not, and with a title race on the cards Bielsa needs his top players in the side rather than the likes of Dallas.
Hopefully, for the sake of a potential return to the Premier League, the Northern Irish attacker’s joy is short lived and that his delight is dashed sooner rather than later with the return of Clarke.
One is a hard worker with little end product, the other an enigmatic talent who can change the game in the blink of an eye. There is no questioning who is going to have a bigger say come the end of the season.