Leeds United midfielder might have gone this summer but chose to compete for a starting spot; Farke adores him – Journalist Jamie Shackleton has turned his fortunes around at Elland Road after being approached by the club about a possible exit in the summer.
After being relegated from the Premier League, there were always going to be a slew of players at the club whose futures were in doubt, whether they were too good for the Championship, thought they were too good for it, or were just surplus to needs.
Jamie Shackleton returned from a rocky loan spell at Millwall knowing he only had a year on his deal and was at a crossroads in his career.
Few expected Shackleton to return from the New Den and become one of the team’s most consistent performers this season, but injury concerns in a number of positions have allowed him to show great versatility.
Shackleton has proven to Daniel Farke that he is worth keeping around by playing in both full-back positions, midfield, and on the flank. He is in the final year of his contract.
Farke has showered praise on the midfielder and believes he’s a very undervalued player for the club right now, according to Phil Hay: It appeared that Shackleton could have left in the summer months, with the club asking the 23-year-old the question.
That’s according to Graham Smyth of the YEP, who discusses on the Inside Elland Road podcast how the midfielder worked hard in the summer to gain a spot in Farke’s squad:
“In terms of the players Leeds had, all 40 of them that we looked at, Shackleton was an easy one because while the club sounded him out about whether or not he would maybe like to go this summer, the position from Shackleton was always, ‘no thanks very much, I’m going to stay, I know that I train really well, I know I can impress coming back by being fitter than anyone else in pre-season, then I am going to hope to play my way back into Farke’s plans’.
“We predicted he’d be a useful player in the Championship, and he’s already proven it, and he’ll cover different positions.”
Shackleton was one of the players who appeared to be on his way out of Elland Road over the summer, so it’s a great surprise to see how well he’s doing now.
We always knew what he was capable of in our side, and his adaptability indicates how valuable a player he will be.
He’s becoming Mr Reliable, much like Stuart Dallas, and that’s a terrific position for Shackleton to be.
We know he can play anywhere in the league and put in a 7/10 performance.
