Leeds United left-back Barry Douglas has been played as a substitute more times than being started so far this Championship season.
Up until the League Cup game against Stoke in August, Douglas was receiving starts and playing no less than 79 minutes a game. However, since then, the highest amount of game time the Scotsman has managed in one match is 45 minutes.
This negative trend is what has concerned Noel Whelan when he spoke to Football Insider on Wednesday, he said he “can’t see him being at Leeds next year if this continues.” 333 minutes is not enough for the so-called “best left-back” at Leeds. However, that statement could be considered debatable as Ezgjan Alioski could be argued to be a better option, with Bielsa clearly appearing to favour playing the Macedonian for 967 minutes already this season.
Whilst at Wolves, Douglas played 39 matches, scored five goals, managed 14 assists and was awarded with the man of the match award four times. However, since joining Leeds in the 2018/19 season the 30-year-old has achieved just five assists and nothing else.
Verdict
Maybe back in 2017, Douglas could be considered the best left-back at Leeds, but on current form, he’s lucky to still be the third-choice, with a talented young Leif Davis right on his tail for that spot. We can’t see Bielsa being too upset with Douglas leaving, as he’s hardly been the first name on the team sheet lately.
Perhaps the 30-year-old could do with a short-term loan, as that might help him find his form again ready for next season. He’ll also get that much-needed game time and could easily still play in the Championship, so Douglas wouldn’t have to embarrassingly drop down a league.