Liam Cooper has been a mainstay at Leeds United for nearly a decade now but the Yorkshire outfit may soon have to replace the club captain if they want to progress as a top-division side.
Do Leeds United need to replace Liam Cooper?
The Scottish defender has remained a regular following the Peacocks' promotion to the Premier League but is 31 now and last started a game in February, in the 1-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest.
While it is unclear how long Javi Gracia will remain as manager at Elland Road, Cooper is yet to start a single game since the Spaniard's arrival, despite returning from injury ahead of the recent international break.
This suggests that his long-term prospects at Leeds are not good, and given that his contract is set to expire at the end of the 2023/24 campaign, his legacy with the Yorkshire side may soon be about to come to an end.
The Scotland international joined Leeds from Chesterfield in 2014 and has gone on to make an impressive 261 appearances for the club, contributing ten goals and six assists in that time.
However, he has been limited to just 14 Premier League appearances so far this campaign, with the likes of Pascal Struijk, Robin Koch and summer signing Max Wober now arguably preferred to Cooper at centre-back, which suggests that Leeds could soon be looking for a long-term replacement for the passionate defender.
Fortunately for Gracia, or whoever takes over at Leeds in the long-term, the club may already have a perfect heir in January signing, Diogo Monteiro.
Who is Diogo Monteiro?
Leeds would sign the 18-year-old defender from Servette FC in January on a three-and-a-half-year deal, having broken into the Swiss side's first team at just 16.
He would make seven first-team appearances in total in his spell there and has featured four times in the Premier League 2 for Leeds United's U21 side since his switch in the winter transfer window.
Football scout Ron Dor was full of praise for the young defender after he stepped in and helped Servette to a clean sheet on his debut against runaway league leaders Young Boys, labelling him a “beast in the making."
Cooper may have seen his game time limited this season but he has still proven himself to be a beast at the back for Leeds, as no player has won more aerial duels per game in Gracia's squad.
Therefore, if Monteiro can live up to his potential and adjust to the physicality of the Premier League, then he could be the ideal man to sit on Cooper's throne when he does see his stay at Elland Road finally come to an end.