A member of that Championship winning team under Marcelo Bielsa in 2019/20, Stuart Dallas knows first-hand just how integral experience and a calm mentality is with Premier League football on the line.
Dallas secured promotion five years ago alongside the likes of Liam Cooper, Luke Ayling, Kalvin Phillips, Mateusz Klich and Pablo Hernandez.
Patrick Bamford, half a decade later, is still there. Albeit in more of a supporting role these days rather than one of the posterboys of a promotion-sealing outfit.
And, as Jayden Bogle spoke to LUTV at full-time following a victory which put Leeds United three points closer to the top-flight, Dallas was struck by the maturity and the self-assured confidence of a man who, at just 24 years of age, is already on the verge of a second promotion out of England’s second tier.
Bogle was ‘sensational’ as Leeds saw off Preston North End at Elland Road.
A typically all-action display at both ends of the pitch, Bogle converted the winner – and his sixth goal of a pretty prolific campaign – as he turned in Manor Solomon’s cross moments after Kaine Kesler-Hayden had cancelled out the Tottenham loanee’s fourth-minute stunner.
Jayden Bogle impresses Stuart Dallas as Leeds United beat Preston
This was another of those Elland Road afternoons where you’d struggle to hear your own thoughts against the feverish din of relief and jubilation.
Bogle has frequently mentioned the famous, eardrum-popping atmosphere created by one of Britain’s most passionate fanbases. He has also described Leeds as ‘the biggest club I’ve played for’.
A claim which will not have gone down particularly well Sheffield United, Yorkshire neighbours and Leeds’ fellow promotion rivals
“He’s an experienced player. He has been there before,” Dallas says of a man who finished second behind Burnley during the 2022/23 Championship campaign. “I find it crazy – [maybe] not ‘crazy’ – but he’s talking about the atmosphere and he’s never heard anything like it.
“Let’s be honest, he has come from a club that plays at Bramall Lane and that’s an amazing atmosphere as well.
“Credit to Leeds fans.”
It is no secret that Chris Wilder was desperate to keep Jayden Bogle at Sheffield United before his eventual £5 million switch from South Yorkshire to the West of the county.
As The Blades slipped up yet again – Plymouth Argyle the third team in a row to take all three points off the Steel City outfit – Leeds’ gain is most certainly shaping up to be Sheffield United’s loss.
“He’s very, very mature,” Dallas adds. “He’s one of the leaders in the dressing room as well, a popular figure within it. He’s been brilliant. It was a little bit tricky for him at the start but he’s been fantastic ever since.
“I keep coming back to [the fact that] he’s following Luke Ayling, which is hard for anyone to do because of how well liked he was at the club and what he produced.
“So for Jayden to come in and to do what he’s done, it’s phenomenal.
“These players are huge. They all have to step up and take a responsibility. Jayden being an experienced player and having won promotion before, you can’t buy that. Well, obviously they bought him! But you know what I mean, it’s invaluable really.
“Players like him, like Patrick Bamford coming on today, nothing fancy, just a bit of know-how and game-management. Jayden is exactly the same. Defensively, he’s been good as well so full credit to him.”
Daniel Farke tactics get the best out of Bogle and Junior Firpo
Former Leeds striker Michael Bridges feels Daniel Farke deserves credit for coaxing more out of Bogle and the left-sided Junior Firpo from an attacking perspective.
It is largely down to the German’s free-flowing set-up that Leeds’ two swashbuckling full-backs have the freedom to bomb on.
“I think [Bogle] is very calculated, and that’s a reflection of Daniel Farke. Not getting too carried away, not getting too down, and I think the experience comes with that,” Bridges says. “But [Dallas] nailed it. The season he’s having…
“Its all well and good getting full-backs who have that many touches inside the penalty area – the goals and the assists – but there’s a bit of tactics behind that as well. If you’re going forward and there are spaces to exploit, there is a lot coming from the two centre-halves and the defensive midfielders
“So, tactically, the lads have embraced this and they are playing lovely football.”
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