Leif Davis can buck Leeds United loan trend and provide back-up for Junior Firpo

Next week looks set to be a busy one for Leeds United loans manager Andrew Taylor, with three key fringe players looking for a temporary move away and regular minutes. Charlie Cresswell looks set to join Millwall for the season, while a host of Championship clubs have registered their interest in Jamie Shackleton and Tyler Roberts.

The moves signal a clear change in how the club view the loan market post-Marcelo Bielsa, with young prospects allowed the freedom to move and pick up regular minutes rather than remain in West Yorkshire as cover for a thin senior squad. But despite the increased leniency towards allowing a move away, one of last season’s loanees could fare better by staying.

The club’s insistence that they don’t need to prioritise a new left-back has concerned some, with Junior Firpo the only obvious option following Stuart Dallas’ long spell out. But Leif Davis might see that insistence as a vote of confidence in his development. The full-back spent last season on loan at Bournemouth, but struggled to make the desired impact - partly due to injuries.

He returned to West Yorkshire before the end of last season but was ineligible to feature during the run-in. Nevertheless, those few weeks at Thorp Arch gave Davis a taste of Jesse Marsch’s style and he obviously impressed enough in that spell to convince the Whites' boss that left-back is not a priority this summer.

Granted, that same reasoning may have been justified by the presence of Pascal Struijk and Leo Hjelde - both had short spells at left-back during the relegation run-in - but Davis will see this summer as a chance to make the step up and provide cover for first-choice Firpo. The 22-year-old joined up with the first-team for the first week of