Leeds manager Thomas Christiansen lauds Conor Shaugnessy’s show

Leeds United boss, Thomas Christiansen seems to have the knack to pick the right players. The Whites manager, in an interview with BBC Radio Leeds, has praised the performance of Conor Shaughnessy in the recent 0-0 draw Leeds had with Fulham.

Christiansen had made a bold move by sending in Shaughnessey to replace Liam Cooper in central defence, after the latter was injured during training. With Matthew Pennington also being unavailable, the move seemed a justified one.

The Whites manager, not wanting to risk making Cooper’s injuries worse, decided to let the Scotland international skip the game with Fulham and his gamble seems to have worked to the club’s advantage.

On Shaughnessy’s performance, he said, “It’s not easy against a powerful team like Fulham, the strikers are very fast. He had a good game. We had a problem with Cooper and he replaced him very well.

Former Leeds manager, Neil Redfearn, has also applauded Irish defender saying, “I thought it was an outstanding performance [from] the big fella. He made one or two goal-saving challenges in the second half when Fulham broke.”

Having the unproven, Shaughnessy start the lineup shows the difficult state of Leeds United’s centre back position. Therefore, Leeds are in dire need of strengthening their defensive options, if they intend to make good headway this summer.