BBC pundit Noel Whelan has claimed that Jamie Shackleton was underused by Marcelo Bielsa, admitting the young midfielder ticks all the boxes to play for Leeds United.
Bielsa enjoyed a great first season in charge at Elland Road and was forced into utilising the club’s academy after a number of injuries throughout the campaign. 19-year-old Shackleton took advantage of that and made an effective breakthrough into the senior side, both in defence and midfield.
After earning his first England Under-20’s cap in the Toulon Tournament, the former Leeds striker admitted that he was surprised by the starlet not receiving more game time.
Whelan told Football Insider: “He’s been a great player last season. Didn’t get used enough really in my eyes. The quality that he brings, the energy, the tenacity, the way he can run with the ball, drive at defenders but also enjoy the horrible side of the game – he ticks every box for me.”
Shackleton made 21 appearances in the Championship last season, with only four of those outings being from the starting line-up.
OPINION
Jamie Shackleton has definitely enjoyed a fast rise to the Leeds first team picture after being somewhat nowhere near at the beginning of the season. Injuries quickly changed that as the 19-year-old started his first Championship game against Swansea, a game in which he tallied his first assist in the senior set-up. Despite his quick rise, Shackleton is certainly worthy of the acclaim after proving he has what it takes to cut it in the second tier of English football. Whelan is right to praise the youngster but to claim he was underused is possibly a step too far, mainly because at the beginning of the campaign, Shackleton himself wouldn’t have expected to have played such a big role in a season where his boyhood club almost earned promotion back to Premier League. As a small player, the England youth international certainly lacks physicality in the middle of the park and added strength wouldn’t go a miss for when it gets tough in midfield but Shackleton is certainly on his way to becoming a more prominent feature at Elland Road next season.