Former Leeds United defender Barry Douglas knows more than most what it to takes to get promoted from the Championship.
Douglas was part of the Leeds side which ended their 16-year wait for Premier League football back in 2020, having also achieved the same feat with Wolves two years earlier.
With five goals and 14 assists in 39 matches during Wolves’ campaign, Douglas was undoubtedly one of the best left-backs in the league at one stage.
However, it would be fair to say he didn’t quite hit those heights at Leeds, predominantly due to a string of injury issues.
Even so, Douglas still very much established himself as a key part of the dressing room, something which fans were well aware of. As such, his opinion is one that is certainly respected.
Douglas has some ‘interesting’ comments about new Leeds signing Joe Rothwell
At both Leeds and Wolves, Douglas never actually got the opportunity to make the step up into the Premier League.
Despite his incredible season at Molineux, he was sold straight to Leeds. After Leeds’ promotion, he was loaned out to Blackburn Rovers, before then being released.
It was at Ewood Park that Douglas actually played alongside Leeds’ newest signing of the summer Joe Rothwell, a season in which he registered three goals and four assists from midfield.
That sort of contribution in the final third is bigger than any of Leeds’ midfielders last season, but it is one of his other attributes which left Douglas blown away.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Inside Elland Road Podcast, Graham Smyth says he spoke to Douglas recently about Rothwell, who told him he is the quickest player he’s played with, with the ball at his feet.
He said: “I don’t think they should go into the season with one very forward thinking eight, and two sixes. I think they need two eights and two sixes. They need to replace Archie at right-back as well, he needs replacing twice.
“But a solid pickup I think from speaking to few people. I spoke to Barry Douglas who played at Leeds and with Rothwell at Blackburn, and he said he was the quickest player he’d played with, with the ball at his feet.
“So not the quickest player sprinting, there are some who can beat him in a straight foot race. But with the ball at his feet he was the quickest and sharpest player Douglas had played with, which I thought was an interesting way of putting it.”
- READ MORE: Leeds now battling Victor Orta to sign AC Milan defender this summer, he could replace Junior Firpo
Rothwell is not Kamara’s replacement at Leeds
Rothwell is certainly a solid signing when it comes to squad depth and offering Leeds’ midfield something they didn’t have last season.
However, any kind of gloss surrounding his arrival was taken off once Glen Kamara was sold to Rennes just a few days later.
It put Leeds back to square one in terms of their midfield depth, and with all due respect to Rothwell, it is a one-in, one-out that has arguably weakened them.
However, there have now been multiple reports to suggest that Rothwell is not Kamara’s replacement, and so another number eight will be arriving, which is good news.
Receive a digest of our best Leeds content each week direct to your mailbox
