This article is part of Football League World's 'The Verdict' series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...
Phil Hay has revealed in his latest article for The Athletic that Leeds United plan to offer Barry Douglas a contract extension as his deal approaches its final 12 months.
Leeds signed Douglas in the summer of 2018, but he’s struggled to rediscover the form he showed at his previous club, Wolves.
Nevertheless, Leeds plan to offer the 30-year-old a new deal, with his current agreement expiring at the end of 2020/21.
Our writers discuss this news and whether it is the right call for Leeds to be making…
Jacob Potter
I think it's a bit premature.
Douglas has been a reliable member of the Leeds squad when called upon by Marcelo Bielsa, but I don't think he should be getting a new deal just yet.
He's been far too injury prone for my liking, and I do have my doubts as to whether he'll be good enough to play regularly in the Premier League.
They need to look towards the future, which they'll be hoping will be in the top-flight for the foreseeable future.
I don't think Douglas has done enough to warrant a new deal with Leeds at this moment in time, and they need to think more about the long-term project at Elland Road.
George Harbey
I think it's definitely the right decision for Douglas to be given a new deal at Elland Road.
Douglas hasn't really shown Leeds fans what he's all about since joining from Wolves due to problems with injury, and his performance against Blackburn at the weekend showed just how good he can be when he's on form and clear of injury.
When he was at Wolves, he was undoubtedly one of the best left-backs in the league. He looked solid and assured in defence, and going forward he contributed to a remarkable amount of goals.
Keeping the core of the squad together ahead of a potential return to the Premier League is 100% the right decision. You look at Sheffield United and what they have done this season, and you can see that they are a really united group.
Douglas is also Leeds' proper out-and-out left-back, so letting him go would mean that they would need to find a replacement, which would cause more hassle than it's worth in my opinion.
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George Dagless
It's a tough one.
On paper, you'd have to say try and keep him because we know the quality that he has and we know what he brings to the side when fit.
Obviously, he's not played as much as you would expect for players to earn a new deal, because of his fitness issues, but I'm pretty convinced that Marcelo Bielsa is going to be happy to keep him.
The Argentine is bound to have weighed up this situation with his standards so high for fitness and he will clearly think Douglas is worth keeping.
If it's good enough for him, then who am I to say he should do otherwise.