Jamie Shackleton gives Leeds boss Bielsa selection headache after stunning display

By Jordan Harris

Leeds United were dealt an injury blow ahead of their game against Barnsley on Sunday with Adam Forshaw missing the fixture due to a hip injury, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post.

Forshaw has been outstanding at the start of this season. He has silenced a lot of his critics after getting an opportunity to really prove himself in the role in front of Kalvin Phillips in Leeds’s midfield.

(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Jamie Shackleton was the man to replace Forshaw at Oakwell. And following the 2-0 victory, it is perhaps fair to suggest that Marcelo Bielsa now has a difficult decision on his hands ahead of Saturday’s game against Derby County.

The Yorkshire Evening Post reports that Forshaw is expected to be fit for that game. But Shackleton staked a claim to hold onto his spot by producing a fantastic performance against the Tykes.

 (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)

No Leeds player made more successful tackles than the four that the 19-year-old made. Meanwhile, no player on the pitch made more successful dribbles than Shackleton, according to Whoscored.com.

The academy graduate also had three attempts on goal – Patrick Bamford and Mateusz Klich were the only Leeds players to have more. It was the kind of all-round performance that the Whites needed with Forshaw missing.

And while Forshaw has arguably been one of Leeds’s best players this term, it now looks as though it would incredibly harsh to drop Shackleton.

The teenager is yet to let Leeds down when he gets a chance. So it should come as no surprise that he was excellent at the weekend.

But Bielsa may not have expected that he would now have no choice but to consider leaving out one of his best performers this season for their next game thanks to Shackleton’s brilliance.