Football League World’s Leeds United fan pundit Bradley Marshall believes loaning out Conor Shaughnessy to Mansfield Town was the right decision but that the defender still has a lot to offer.
The 23-year-old joined the League Two side on a season-long loan on Monday, which was transfer deadline day for League One, League Two and Championship clubs.
The Irishman has made 15 appearances for the Whites but has featured just once under Marcelo Bielsa and spent the majority of last season on loan with Scottish side Hearts.
Marshall has indicated he believes letting Shaughnessy leave Elland Road for the 2019/20 season was the right move.
He said: “Without a doubt, it was the right decision to send him out on loan, he is still only 23 and has plenty of years of football ahead of him.
“Furthermore, I think the most important thing for him at the moment is first-team football and he was clearly way down the pecking order at Leeds with more proven defenders ahead of him.
“When he played for Leeds he lacked certain features a centre-back needs in the Championship, such as aggression and composure on the ball, which we all know are vital attributes under Bielsa.”
Marshall added: “I still believe that he has a lot to offer. He is an aerial threat when both attacking and defending, which makes him a valuable asset to anyone.
“However, I am yet to see if he deserves to ply his trade at Elland Road or needs to move elsewhere.
“Shaughnessy has one more opportunity to prove himself at Mansfield and he must know that to have any possible chance at Leeds he needs to out-perform and out-play most, if not all, other centre-halves in the league and dominate any attacker that poses a threat to his new side.”
Liam Cooper, Ben White, and Gaetano Berardi are currently the only centre-backs in the Leeds squad and the 23-year-old could’ve provided back-up if needed.
[ad_pod ]
However, Marshall suggested he is not concerned about being too light at the back, even following the Irishman’s exit.
He said: “It is well-known that Leeds are light at the back but I don't think Shaughnessy was the answer to that problem.
“Leeds are bound to pick up at least a couple of injuries or suspensions over the course of the season but we have people like Luke Ayling, who is more than comfortable at centre-half, and young Pascal Struijk, who undoubtedly deserves a chance of first-team action after his performances last year for the under-23s.
“As astounding as it sounds, I'm currently quite happy with the strength of the defence as long as Cooper avoids injuries and suspensions as you can almost place any defender next to him and he will bring out the best in them.”