Sky Sports pundit Danny Mills has suggested that Leeds United likely want to see more from youth prospect Leif Davis, before the left-back establishes himself in Marcelo Bielsa’s plans.
Davis made his first-team debut against Aston Villa last December, when he started against the Birmingham-based outfit in our 3-2 Championship win.
The 19-year-old went on to make a further four appearances across all competitions last season, although his only subsequent start came in the 2-1 FA Cup loss to Queens Park Rangers in January.
He has already bettered his minutes tally for the season this term, though, after starting each of our Carabao Cup clashes and making three appearances from the bench in the Championship, including our last two fixtures.
Davis’ efforts saw that the Newcastle-born defender was rewarded with a new, three-and-a-half-year contract earlier this month, but Mills expects the club still want to see him offer more on the pitch.
“It’s dangling the carrot in front of him,” Mills told Football Insider. “It’s an opportunity to say: ‘Look, you’ve done well, if you want to go to the next level, you’re going to have to do even better.’
“If you’re a good player and you’re left-footed, you do have an advantage. You always have done, that’s just how it is. The lefties are quite rare so if you’ve got a good one, the best thing to do is keep hold of him.”
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As well as bettering his minutes tally for the season already, Davis recorded his first senior assist against Stoke City when we lost to the Potters on penalties in August.
He has also proven himself to be capable of offering Bielsa a versatile option, after the boss felt he could trust the youngster to come on at left-midfield for the closing stages of our 2-0 win over QPR at the start of the month.