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Manchester United are reportedly set to recall Cameron Borthwick-Jackson after a short, unhappy loan spell at Elland Road with Leeds United, as the young fullback has failed to make an impression.
#lufc are in negotiations with #mufc to cancel their defender Cameron Borthwick-Jackson’s season-long loan deal at the club. It is being reported that both clubs could agree to terminate his loan deal at Elland Road after the defender struggled to make an impact this season.
— LEEDSUNITED_MAD ⚡️ (@LeedsUnited_MAD) December 26, 2017
Borthwick-Jackson has only appeared for Leeds a total of five times, with four of those coming in the Carabao Cup. Originally seen as a possible replacement for the departed Charlie Taylor, who left Leeds for Burnley after an ugly contract dispute last season, Borthwick-Jackson failed to turn in decent performances and Northern Ireland winger Stuart Dallas had even been preferred at left-back over the young left-footed fullback.
Leeds have been forced to use Gaetano Berardi and Vurnon Anita at left back for much of the season, with Berardi even remarking that if he were in charge of the club he would find a better left-back. Berardi is normally a right back, and while he’s done good enough on the left-side, it’s not necessarily his first choice to play on the left. Former Newcastle utility man Anita broke through at Ajax playing as a left back, but he’s been used almost exclusively as a midfielder and at right back in England, making most of his appearances last season on Tyneside as a right back. Berardi has performed better at left back than Anita has, but neither has made a convincing case to be the permanent left back going forward for Leeds.
With the news that Borthwick-Jackson reportedly set to return to Manchester United, expect the chatter about a possible replacement to intensify. Leeds have been linked with a number of players in the past few weeks, but not many of the players have been fullbacks, much less left backs. Victor Orta, the Director of Football at Leeds, has scoured the overseas market for a number of transfer targets, but seemed to look at the domestic market for defenders during the summer. It will be interesting to see if Leeds use their resources to grab a new left back and where the potential replacement will come from as the Yorkshire side seek promotion.