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Phil Hay addresses trio’s potential Leeds United departures

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Phil Hay doesn’t feel Leeds United are in a position to sanction loan exits in January, despite some players struggling for the minutes that they desire.

Leeds have a tight squad under Marcelo Bielsa, who doesn’t flood his squad with depth despite often juggling a crippling injury list.

Despite that, the likes of Tyler Roberts, Mateusz Klich and Jamie Shackleton will all, likely, feel the need for more game time.

However, Bielsa giving their exit the green-light in the winter window feels very unlikely.

Phil Hay as told The Athletic in a recent Q&A that unless Leeds recruit, it’s unlikely others will be allowed to leave.

Roberts, Klich and Shackleton were three players Hay mooted could be eyeing more opportunities.

“Unless Leeds recruit next month, the squad is hardly big enough to allow players to go on loan.

“But Roberts is in a strange position, Klich isn’t playing too regularly so maybe they will want regular football soon.

“We spoke to Shackleton’s agent, Hayden Evans, on the podcast and he conceded that Shackleton needs to be playing more than he has.”

You can understand why the three Hay mentions might be searching for more game time.

Even in Patrick Bamford’s absence, Roberts hasn’t found minutes easy to come by. Adam Forshaw has moved ahead of Klich in the pecking order. Meanwhile, Shackleton’s injury issues seem to deny him any extended run in the side.

However, Leeds can hardly grant that trio permission to leave in search of more regular games in the winter window. The summer might be different, but not in January.

Leeds would have to spend heavily to replace them and, even then, they wouldn’t understand Bielsa’s systems inside out.

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Leeds United Season Ticket Holder at Elland Road for over 20 seasons. Currently nestled in N12, but occasionally offering views from the press box. We’ve been through it all together? You bet.