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It appears that Leeds United have made a deal for a left back.
Club Brugge full back Laurens De Bock has agreed personal terms with Leeds United, according to @FooTTomaz. Clubs still negotiating over a fee. #lufc pic.twitter.com/yXLixI7Fjf
— Kristof Terreur (@HLNinEngeland) January 5, 2018
Reports out of Belgium indicate that Leeds have agreed personal terms with Club Brugge fullback Laurens De Bock. The 25 year-old defender has been at Club Brugge since the summer of 2013, when he moved to the Belgian champions from KSC Lokeren. He’s made only eight appearances this season for Club Brugge, with five of them coming at left midfield.
He played there a couple of times, but that isn't his spot, he's a left-back. He isn't good enough in attack to play that role in a top-flight team in my opninion. He's more of a defensive player. That's also why he's a bench player now, he's good, but the LM isn't his spot.
— FanofFootball (@BelgVoetbalFan) January 5, 2018
Club Brugge has reportedly switched to a 3-5-2 formation and is not using traditional fullbacks this season, and while De Bock has been used at left-midfield, that doesn’t seem to be his spot. In his career, he’s appeared a total of 189 times at fullback, six times in central defence, and six times as a midfielder. He’s made over 177 appearances for Club Brugge, so it appears that he just doesn’t fit into the formation that the club is now playing.
Hopefully this transfer goes through and Leeds will have a new left back, as it appears that Cameron Borthwick-Jackson is on his way out of the club after failing to impress. The club has been forced to use Gaetano Berardi, a right back, Vurnon Anita, a midfielder/ fullback, and even Stuart Dallas, a right-footed left winger, at left back this season.
Depth at defence has been tested this season with central defenders Pontus Jansson, captain Liam Cooper, and Matthew Pennington all missing time because of injury and suspension. And while a good partnership has been formed in central defence between Cooper and Jansson in the past month or so, some rotation is needed at the fullback positions. For example, Luke Ayling has been forced to play in every single match this season for Leeds, and the announcers noted during the last match against Nottingham Forest, when Ayling came off with injury, that up to that point he had played every minute in the league for Leeds.
Leeds have needed a left-back after Charlie Taylor left this past summer, and while Manchester United loanee Cameron Borthwick-Jackson hasn’t worked out, maybe this one will.
MOT