Despite Leeds being battered at the weekend by West Brom, Marcelo Bielsa’s side still remains one of the favourites to be promoted this year.
Stoke City, however, have had a terrible season so far and have not lived up to their pre-season hype as one of the teams to possibly win the league as they have a wealth of talent that has Premier League experience, including James McClean.
Leeds, however, have a collection of player that for the most part would be getting its first taste of Premier League football if they were to get promoted this season, namely Stuart Dallas.
James McClean
A player that has the talent to be a solid Premier League player but always looks closer to an explosion of emotion rather than talent, James McClean was signed for £5 million by Stoke City over the summer as Gary Rowett tried to arm his squad with enough talent to bounce straight back into the Premier League.
The former West Brom man has, however, has struggled to hit form this season and has so far only scored one goal in 12 games. In recent weeks, he’s found it hard to fit into the side and has lost his place to Saido Berahino.
His record of late may not be the best but he still has the talent to help Stoke City up the league. He’s a solid player but not an outstanding one.
TT Grade: C+
Stuart Dallas
In his first season at Leeds, Dallas had a solid season as he scored five goals while also recording seven assists in the league following his £1.3 million move from Brentford.
Since then, he’s struggled to replicate that form and has, despite playing 29 games in the league last year, become a bit part player in Bielsa’s side.
Most recently, the normally left-midfield man was forced to play in defence and as you’d expect, he was a constant liability and was out of position consistently throughout the game.
In Bielsa’s new look dynamic side, it looks as though Dallas will find it hard to get into the side going forward and although he was a cheap addition, he hasn’t had much effect on the side.
TT Grade: C-
The Verdict
Both players aren’t exactly essential to their clubs but they remain solid Championship professionals. Just for McClean’s talent as he could well turn out to be a solid player for Stoke and one that could one day take them back into the Premier League – although not this year – he wins this one. As for Dallas, he may not be at Leeds for much longer and is definitely not in Bielsa’s long-term plans.
