There was a flurry of transfer business at Elland Road earlier this week, as Leeds United offloaded a number of players before the transfer window closed for League One, League Two and European clubs.
Among that business was a loan deal for Conor Shaughnessy, who joined League Two side Mansfield Town on a season-long loan.
The central defender spent the majority of last season on loan with Scottish Premier League side Hearts, making 11 appearances for the club.
He has made 15 appearances for the Whites in total but hasn’t been named in a matchday squad by Marcelo Bielsa this season and did not feature during pre-season.
With that in mind, we have highlighted two pros and two cons of Leeds decision to let him go out on loan.
Pros
He will get a chance at regular first-team football.
Shaughnessy has identified himself that the best thing for his development at this point is first-team football and it seems as though he will get exactly that at Mansfield.
He looked unlikely to play any part for the Whites in the 2019/20 season, so a spell out on loan to help him to get more experience and ultimately return to the club a better player in the summer seems a smart move.
He could still play an important role for Leeds in the future.
The defender may be spending his short-term future away from the club but will return to Elland Road at the end of the season.
Leeds offloaded a number of young players permanently this summer, such as Aapo Halme, Tom Pearce and Mallik Wilks, but sending out Shaughnessy on loan means he could still play an important role for the club in the future.
According to Transfermarkt, the 23-year-old’s is contracted with the Whites until 2021, which gives them a fair amount of time to decide whether he is a player they believe can be useful moving forward.
Cons
Leeds look a little light defensively.
The club did not sign a defender after Pontus Jansson’s exit, which leaves Ben White, Liam Cooper and Gaetano Berardi as the only centre-backs in the squad.
Leeds’ defensive unit have made a great start to the season and have conceded the least goals in the Championship but a string of injuries could cause them serious issues at centre-back.
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Shaughnessy, while inexperienced, could’ve provided them with vital cover and his departure does leave them looking slightly light on numbers.
He is taking a significant step down.
The 23-year-old will get some really useful experience at Mansfield and should return to Leeds as a better player next summer.
However, there is no denying that there is a significant gulf in class between Leeds near the top of the Championship and Mansfield, one place off the bottom of League Two.
The Irishman may have returned to the club more prepared for first-team football at Elland Road if had he moved somewhere slightly higher up the leagues.