Daniel Farke should be commended for thinking on his feet when it comes to the right-back position at Leeds United this season, thrusting Archie Gray into the spotlight in an ingenious move.
Onto 34 appearances for the season at just 17 years of age, with 20 of those coming as a makeshift full-back, Gray has helped ease concerns over who could come into the side in that position in what has been a problem area at Elland Road.
Concerns have further been eased by the addition of Connor Roberts. The Welshman was linked with a move to Elland Road throughout January and then finally put pen to paper on transfer deadline day.
Signing on loan from Burnley, the full-back will spend the rest of the season with Leeds with Farke having bolstered his defence depth impressively.
The aforementioned problems arguably stem, however, from Stuart Dallas picking up a serious injury two years ago.
Once a stalwart in the Whites lineup in defence, he is now sadly burning a rather large hole in Leeds' wage bill by unfortunately becoming a permanent fixture in the treatment room.
Stuart Dallas' salary at Leeds
At the peak of his powers for Leeds, talk around how much Dallas was earning was irrelevant chatter compared to his heroics on the pitch.
During the 2019/20 campaign for Leeds – who Argentine icon Marcelo Bielsa managed at the time – Dallas would manage to fire in five goals on top of picking up three assists as the Whites soared to automatic promotion from the Championship.
The Northern Irish star wasn't done there, however, smoothly transitioning to the demands of the Premier League the season after with eight goals and two assists notched up from 38 appearances.
Dallas' £45k per week wage wouldn't raise any eyebrows therefore at the time, with the now 32-year-old a key first-team presence loved by the Elland Road masses.
Adept at playing in a whole host of positions away from just Gray's current spot – able to play at left-back, further forward down the wing and even in central midfield – it must have been a gutting blow when the news was announced that Dallas had suffered a femoral fracture playing against Manchester City back in April 2022.
Still, with his wage making him the sixth-highest earner currently in West Yorkshire, the time could come soon when Leeds need to assess Dallas' future at the club and whether he will ever make a plausible comeback after such a horrific injury.
Dallas' salary at Leeds compared to the squad
Dallas is by no means the highest earner at the football club, Georginio Rutter and Patrick Bamford are both tied for that title at a handsome £70k-per-week.
Yet, with Rutter's dazzling performances of late and Bamford's fantastic reemergence back onto the scene after injury issues of his own, their hefty wages could be justified.
1. Georginio Rutter
£70k
2. Patrick Bamford
£70k
3. Junior Firpo
£60k
4. Daniel James
£50k
5. Pascal Struijk
£50k
6. Stuart Dallas
£45k
Sourced by Capology
Dallas hasn't managed to play a single minute of action for Leeds since his horrendous injury, which has seen him sidelined for nearly two years now, with key figures in the Whites first team right now such as Ethan Ampadu perhaps justifying a better cause for a wage increase in the future.
Ampadu comes in at £5k-per-week less than Dallas despite rolling up his sleeves all season long as a tough battler for Farke's troops, establishing a formidable partnership in defence recently with Joe Rodon to play their part in the Whites making it seven wins on the spin in the Championship.
With Dallas also reaching the end of his career now regardless of his fracture, the Northern Irishman 32 years of age, Leeds will need to brace themselves for the day where they'll need to kindly and sadly sever ties with their esteemed servant to free up room in the wage bill.
Perhaps this may well happen if they secure promotion back to the Premier League in the summer.
