Former Premier League right-back Alan Hutton has admitted that he has been blown away by the form that Stuart Dallas has shown for Leeds United at full-back so far this season.

Dallas has been a key player for Leeds this season and has started every game in the Championship at right-back in the absence of the injured Luke Ayling.

The versatile 28-year-old scored his first goal of the season in the 3-0 win at Stoke City last month and signed a new four-year contract extension at Elland Road earlier this week.

Hutton has been very impressed with the way that Dallas has performed at full-back so far this season, given that he has spent most of his career playing as a winger.

“He’s really surprised me, actually,” Hutton told Football Insider.

“Sometimes as a winger you can take to the full-back role because nowadays a lot of it’s attacking and going forward but there’s somebody like that, he works so hard and obviously the manager’s put that into his mind that you must work.

“He gets back and I’ve played against him a few times, it’s difficult. He really attacks you well and like I say he’ll track my runs going forward. He’s a difficult player to play against.”

Ayling has been the first-choice right-back at Leeds for the past few seasons but missed the start of the new campaign after undergoing ankle surgery.

Leeds are currently third in the Championship table after winning four of their opening six league matches and return to action against Barnsley at Oakwell at the weekend.

The Verdict

I completely agree with Hutton here. Dallas has done an excellent job for Leeds so far this season and he deserved to be rewarded for his progress with a new contract.

His versatility makes him an extremely useful player for Marcelo Bielsa to have in his squad and he's done so well at right-back this season that Ayling may struggle to reclaim his place in the starting line-up when he returns from injury.

Dallas has been key to Leeds' positive start to the new campaign and he could have a very important role to play for the Whites as the season progresses.