Leeds 28-yr-old must instruct agent to find him new club after inexplicable Heck decision
COMMENT By Richard Parks
Enough is surely enough for Vurnon Anita.
He must instruct his agent to find him a new club after his latest inexplicable omission from the Leeds United starting XI.
Anita, 28, was on the substitute’s bench for the 2-1 Championship win against Bolton Wanderers on Friday even though a slew of injuries opened up starting roles both at full-back and in central midfield.
Senior left-back Laurens De Bock was out with a serious injury and youngster Tom Pearce was overlooked, but, instead of turning to rock-solid operator Anita, Paul Heckingbottom shoehorned fish-out-of-water Stuart Dallas as a makeshift left-back.
With number one central midfielder Adam Forshaw missing with a calf injury, the manager ignored Anita and gave yet another opportunity to Eunan O’Kane as Ronaldo Vieira’s partner.
What does Anita have to do to get a game? The writing is surely on the wall after a baffling season for the Holland international.
Hailed as a super smart signing after being snapped up on a free last summer following the expiry of his contract at Newcastle United, he has made just 13 league starts out of a possible 39 and, when he has been used, it has mainly been as a makeshift left-back rather than in central midfield or right-back, where he played for the Premier League outfit.
Expected to be rock solid and mighty useful, perhaps one of the first names on the teamsheet, Anita has instead been a spare part.
He is now in the perplexing position of being third-choice right-back behind the injured Luke Ayling and Gaetano Berardi, and fourth-choice left-back.
As for his favoured central midfield role, Anita is so far down the pecking order, untested players in the Under-18s would probably get a go ahead of him.
The curious thing is that the Dutchman has actually played pretty well when he has been given a chance, in his understated way.
Clearly, Heckingbottom doesn’t fancy him, so Anita should demand showdown talks and set about the process of finding a new club.
In other Leeds United news, the club are working on a deal to sign an English centre-back who has been the best in the league this season.