Stuart Dallas has spoken to Leeds United’s official matchday programme about how he’s found the position change under Marcelo Bielsa.
When asked how he’s finding his new role, Dallas said that he was used to playing as a winger ‘most of the time’ for his club and country, however, Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa has reinvented the 28-year-old into a full-back, which the Northern Irishman has stated he is ‘happy’ with.
Dallas has played at right-back nine times this season, whilst he’s also played twice in the left-back role. The 28-year-old has been extremely versatile, playing in eight different positions in 29 total appearances so far this campaign.
The Northern Irishman ranks 41st in total tackles completed on 30, which is pretty poor considering he’s being utilised as a defender. As a result, he’s also been rather easy to get past this season, as he has been dribbled past 21 times already, which ranks him 13th in the Championship.
The 28-year-old is the eighth-lowest valued player in the whole Leeds United first-team squad, with an estimated Transfermarkt value of £1.8m for the versatile defender.
Verdict
Being adaptable is an easy way to win game time at a football club and it seems to be working for Dallas. With the added extra minutes comes more potential injuries, which Dallas has recently fallen victim to, having picked up an injury while away on international duty with Northern Ireland for their EURO 2020 qualification campaign.
Fortunately, the injury isn’t too serious, per Bielsa’s recent press conference, and will allow Dallas to continue his fine form for Leeds, however, being so versatile has made the 28-year-old practically impossible to replace, as he’ll happily play in any position his Argentine manager asks him to.