Phil Hay has been speaking on the latest edition of The Athletic’s The Phil Hay Show about all things Leeds United.
One of the topics that he spent some time on was transfers, and while he was talking about them, he mentioned the fact that at some point, the Whites might need to consider buying a specialist left-back and moving on Ezgjan Alioski.
He said: (34:48) “It does seem to me that in the Premier League full-backs and specialist full-backs are [a] particularly key position and also a particularly key position in Bielsa’s team.
“His tactics do depend heavily on how well his full-backs play and how well they overlap.
“And aside from [Stuart] Dallas, he’s got Alioski, who defensively I never feel is particularly solid.
“I don’t have a huge problem with Alioski, I think he’s he’s always been a useful asset in the squad, but to my mind, there will come a point further down the line at which Leeds will want to have an out and out left-back/left-wing-back there.”
Do you agree with Hay?
No, Alioski is doing a good job
Yes, we need to replace him
TIF Thoughts on Alioski…
The 28-year-old has made 146 appearances for the Whites in which he has scored 21 goals and provided 16 assists from various positions.
This season in the Premier League, he has made 12 appearances and has earned an average rating of 6.51 from those displays, which ranks him in 13th place in Leeds’ squad, which is not too bad for a player who has never played in the Premier League before this season.
However, given his versatility, we can see why Hay thinks that at some point, the Whites will sign a left-back and perhaps think about moving Alioski on.
The 28-year-old has played a lot of games for Marcelo Bielsa and has helped Leeds win promotion to the Premier League.
Still, it is clear that Hay thinks the time to get someone else in to replace him could be soon, and we feel that is harsh on Alioski who has performed decently in his first Premier League season.