COMMENT By Richard Parks

Leeds United should sell Samuel Saiz this summer.

Before the United faithful turn away in disgust and reach for their phone or keyboard to hammer out some choice words in reply, consider this.

Leeds' defeat to Middlesbrough last night, a match don't forget in which their Spanish playmaker was on the pitch for its entirety, they were thrashed 3-0.

Indeed, the game was all over by half-time as Patrick Bamford scored the first hat-trick of his career to ignite Middlesbrough's play-off hopes.

By contrast, Leeds have slipped well behind the pack and their season is threatening to fizzle out on the back of one win in their last 12 matches.

Paul Heckingbottom's side are 11th in the Championship and five points behind the final play-off spot, with the damage likely to be far worse after the weekend's fixtures are completed, irrespective of the postponed matches across the country.

Football Insider has fully analysed Leeds and Saiz's performances this season, including considering off-the-pitch issues, as we detail five reasons why the club should cash in on their main man.

Click below for the first reason why Saiz should be sold

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Over-reliance on one player

Saiz is a mighty fine player whose combination of touch, vision and finesse is at a level above most players in the Championship. But, watching Leeds play when he is in the team, they are increasingly reliant on him. That is no problem when he is at the top of his game and dictating the play. However, when the Spaniard is below his best, even a little bit, the team suffers. For those who think this is nonsense, consider how Liverpool have thrived without Philippe Coutinho, a playmaker once every bit as important to them as Saiz is to Leeds.

Click below for the second reason why Saiz should be sold

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Hair-trigger temperament

The Spaniard can best be described as 'temperamental'. Others might consider him an accident waiting to happen. The six-match suspension for spitting was an embarrassment to player and club, but last night's defeat to Middlesbrough shows the harsh lesson of that ban has not necessarily been learned as Saiz rucked with Mo Besic at the final whistle as his frustration boiled over. The 27-year-old is the type of player who is likely to be banned on multiple occasions every season.

Click below for the third reason why Saiz should be sold

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Heck can re-shape team

When Saiz plays, he is almost always used in the No10 role with two attacking midfielders either side of him - Ezgjan Alioski and Stuart Dallas were the two at the Riverside - and a centre-forward in front, which has been Pierre-Michel Lasogga's role for most of the season. Having a polished playmaker can only be a good thing, right? Not necessarily. If he doesn't track back, press and cover runners off the ball, it can have negative repercussions. Selling Saiz would allow Heckingbottom greater tactical fleixibility to re-shape the team.

Click below for the fourth reason why Saiz should be sold

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Saiz's stats are not good enough

For those championing Saiz as the answer to all Leeds' ills, deep analysis of his statistics demonstrate he is not quite the second coming. Nor has he been anywhere near as effective as Chris Wood was last season, when his 27 league goals nearly fired the club to an unexpected play-off spot. Sure, the Spaniard is not a striker and offers far more than goals but his Championship output of five goals and six assists from 25 matches - 22 of which have been starts - is decent but far from startling.

Click below for the fifth reason why Saiz should be sold

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Big-money fee guaranteed

As Andrea Radrizzani and Victor Orta suggested in an online fans' forum at the start of the week, if Leeds' star players want to quit this summer (in the event of the team failing to secure promotion), it will be "difficult" to keep them. United cashed in on Wood when the big money was offered last August, and it is almost certain they will do the same if enticing bids come in for the likes of Saiz and Pontus Jansson in the forthcoming window. Saiz was signed from Huesca for £3million last summer and he has done enough to secure a big-money fee were to leave, especially as his contract runs until the summer of 2021. Leeds would be confident of at least trebling their initial outlay.

In other Leeds United transfer news,

the club have agreed the terms of an £8.5million deal, with the first payment scheduled for the summer

.