Noel Whelan has claimed that Ezgjan Alioski will not play as a winger for Leeds United again, as head coach Marcelo Bielsa has superior options in his position.

The 27-year-old has started the last two matches for Leeds at left-back in the absence of the injured Barry Douglas, and scored his first goal of the season in the 3-0 win at Stoke City at the weekend.

Alioski was an extremely influential player for Leeds last season - scoring seven goals and providing five assists in 47 appearances in all competitions - and started every game in the Championship before suffering a season-ending knee injury in April.

After starting the campaign as a winger, Alioski moved into the left-back position due to an injury to Douglas and excelled in his new role.

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Former Leeds striker Whelan has insisted that Alioski's days as an attacker at Elland Road are now all but over and has claimed that Bielsa has far superior options on the wing, such as Pablo Hernandez and Jack Harrison.

“His future at Leeds is at left-back, where he is fighting with Barry Douglas. I don’t see him as a winger anymore, and I don’t think Bielsa does, either,” Whelan told Football Insider.

“There’s no way back for him on the wing, as he struggles to get past players and beat a man. As a winger, you need tricks or extreme pace.

“There are at least four better wingers at Leeds. Helder Costa is better, Jack Clarke is better, while Pablo Hernandez and Jack Harrison have started the season really well as the first choices in the team.

“We have better wingers than Alioski and his chance of getting in the team from now on are at left-back only, unless we have an injury crisis.”

The Verdict

I think Whelan could be right. Alioski was an important player for Leeds in the Championship last season and his versatility makes him a very useful option for Bielsa to have in his squad.

However, the way things are at the moment, it's very difficult to see him returning to the side as a winger - unless there's some sort of injury crisis.

Leeds have got some very talented attacking players in their squad and it's highly unlikely that Alioski will be able to force his way into the side ahead of Pablo Hernandez or Jack Harrison.

The fact that Helder Costa and Jack Clarke have struggled to start games shows just how difficult it would be for Alioski. He's still a good player though and is still capable of having a good season for Leeds at left-back.