Fringe 23-year-old midfielder could kickstart his Leeds career if Bielsa plays him at right-back

Following the news that Leeds United right-back Luke Ayling has been ruled out for two months because of injury, manager Marcelo Bielsa should give fringe loanee Lewis Baker a chance to shine in that position.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the popular Ayling suffered a knee injury in the 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest at the weekend that could keep him on the sidelines until 2019, and it gives Bielsa another defensive headache.

The Argentine boss has already had to deal with the absence of the injured Barry Douglas in recent weeks, with Stuart Dallas and Ezgjan Alioski among those that have filled in at left-back despite naturally being more attacking players.

Meanwhile, hopes would have been high that Chelsea loan man Baker would have been an important player for the Yorkshire outfit this term, but it hasn’t quite worked out that way just yet with him only featuring for 121 minutes in the Championship.

Could he play at right-back?

He certainly has the right attributes to do a job there.

Bielsa showed by dropping Alioski to left-back that he isn’t afraid to make bold selection decisions, and Baker has the pace, height and technical ability to be a success at right-back in the coming months.

The 23-year-old seems unlikely to get an opportunity ahead of the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Adam Forshaw, Mateusz Klich and Samu Saiz in the middle of the park right now, and he would finally have the chance to contribute to the team with a spell at full-back.

It could prove to be an inspired decision by Bielsa given the Chelsea man’s quality on the ball, and he could prove to be an extra useful weapon in the final third for them.

from FootballFanCast.com https://ift.tt/2Szts09