Five Leeds players will be out of contract at the end of the current season, and notably, all of them are defenders. Within that group, most are ageing, with veterans Liam Cooper and Luke Ayling the standout names on the list. As it stands, the quintet are set to become free agents on 1 July.

At 24, Jamie Shackleton looks like the odd-one out. The future of the Leeds academy graduate has been up in the air despite a glowing appraisal from manager Daniel Farke early in his tenure.

“I really love Jamie,” he said. “He's, sometimes, really underrated because he can play all positions. Wherever he plays, he's always reliable, always solid, always a good team-mate, gives us everything.

“Sometimes, even a bit of his problem [is] he has to play so many different roles instead of coming into rhythm on one role, but he proved again tonight he is an unbelievably important piece of our squad and I'm really, really happy to have him, definitely.”

Leeds now pencil in Shackleton talks

Now, according to Football Insider, Leeds will offer Shackleton a new contract at Elland Road. The Whites are planning to hold talks with his agent in due course, where they'll propose fresh terms.

Farke has apparently been "impressed" with what he's seen from Shackleton since his arrival in West Yorkshire, but intriguingly, it seems the club's main motivation is to ensure they "avoid losing him on a free", so we'll see if the 49ers group try to sell him once an agreement has been reached.

A good time to start negotiating with Shackleton

Shackleton, who spent last season on loan in the Championship with Millwall, is eight games short of a century of appearances for Leeds, with 13 of those coming this season. Of his nine league outings, seven have been starts, and two have been in a substitute capacity.

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By
Dan Emery

Feb 5, 2024

Shackleton played the full 90 minutes in six of Farke's first nine second-tier games, but then, between the end of September and New Year's Day, he only appeared once and made the matchday squad four times.

Fortunately, there are now signs that his situation is improving – he's been included for each of the last four league matches, and he also started the FA Cup ties against Peterborough and Plymouth. In the midst of a positive spell, it's probably a good time to be starting negotiations over a new deal.

While Farke admits his versatility can be a curse as well as a blessing given that he can't nail down one particular spot, it does undeniably make him a manager's dream. Shackleton has primarily featured as a right-back this season but he's also been used further up the flank, at left-back and in the centre of midfield too.