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Mills hails Alioski

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Danny Mills has hailed Leeds United ace Ezgjan Alioski for his “infectious” attitude. 

The 27-year-old has featured in seven of United’s eight Championship matches so far this term, starting five of them, including the 1-1 draw against Derby County on Saturday lunchtime.

And Sky Sports pundit Mills has been suitably impressed with his contribution.

Speaking to Football Insider, he said: “He’s had his ups and his downs, he’s had great performances and some not so good ones. He’s grown into that role where people go: ‘Yeah, okay.’

“He’s proved himself that he’ll work hard, get stuck in for the team, work hard for the team in whatever position that is. You need players like that, credit to himself he’s not sulked, he’s worked hard. All credit to him I think.

“He seems to enjoy himself, enjoy playing football, enjoy what he does which is fabulous. When you’ve got characters that work hard, get on with it and do it with a smile on their face, it becomes infectious, especially with the crowd and the fans. It’s all you could ever ask for.”

How important is Alioski?

It would seem that Alioski is Marcelo Bielsa’s go-to man at left-back, despite the return of Barry Douglas from injury, and you can understand why.

Defensively he consistently puts in a solid shift and has averaged a Whoscored rating of 6.95 over the course of seven Championship appearances so far this term – higher than Douglas who has 6.46.

In the 3-0 win against Stoke earlier in the season he was rated as the best player on the pitch, with an 8.4. [WhoScored]

Similarly, on the front foot, he’s matched Stuart Dallas on the right with a goal, and has managed a pass completion rate of 83.4%, including 1.1 key passes and 2.1 successful long balls per game.

In that respect, you can completely understand where Mills is coming from.

Perhaps more important, however, is his personality.

The Macedonian is a maverick, plain and simple, and whether it’s winding his teammates up in training or giving a bit of grief to opponents, his constant eccentricity has made him a cult hero at Elland Road, and you can see why he is so popular amongst supporters.

Having that kind of figure in a side, the wildcard who can pull something out of nothing and unsettle an opposition team, can be a really important asset, and while some people might worry about the disciplinary aspect of having a player as unorthodox as Alisoki in the side, the 27-year-old’s record is actually pretty good.

His worst season came last year when he picked up nine yellow cards, as per Whoscored, but he has never been sent off in the league for United, and it seems as if he has managed to find that perfect balance between crazy and collected.

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