It's somewhat obvious to everyone now that Leeds United have been struggling to find themselves a good, consistent left-back in recent seasons - but why is it such a standout issue?
Despite signing more than five left-backs since Victor Orta came into the club in the summer of 2017, none of them have seemed to truly stick the landing.
With reports saying that one of Jesse Marsch's main targets in the January transfer window is a left-back, many are wondering who will be the next candidate to take the seemingly-cursed position.
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Here are just a few examples of left-back being a crucial but problematic position for the Whites over recent years and the players who struggled to live up to their expectations...
Junior Firpo
Junior Firpo really hasn't lived up to what he could've been at Leeds. Injuries have played their part, with the 26-year-old playing just three matches this season and in the thirty he has played has only registered two assists from left-back.
When you take Ezgjan Alioski's numbers - the man he was signed for to replace - they pale in comparison and with Firpo being kept out of the current XI by an out-of-position Pascal Struijk, it's time to look elsewhere in January.
Leif Davis
Leif Davis was young but still wasn't the answer for Marcelo Bielsa. Immediately sent into the club's youth academy after arriving from Morecambe, he made his first team debut in December 2018 against Aston Villa where he started in a 3-2 win.
After one season in the Premier League where he made two appearances against both Manchester clubs, he was sent on loan to AFC Bournemouth in the 2021/22 season before being sold to Ipswich Town back in July.
Barry Douglas
Arriving fresh from winning promotion with Wolves on the back of a 14-assist season, Barry Douglas' time at Leeds was incredibly injury-plagued.
While he was part of the squad that finally dragged Leeds out of the Championship in 2019-20 he had fallen down the pecking order and was loaned to Blackburn Rovers during Leeds' first campaign back in the Premier League before being released at the end of his contract.
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Ezgjan Alioski
It is somewhat telling that Leeds' most effective left-back contributor was not signed for that position. Nominally a left-winger, Alioksi established himself as Leeds' first-choice left-back during their promotion campaign and held onto that position in the top flight.
He departed at the end of his contract in 2021 as Leeds looked to strengthen their squad with a specialist left-back in the form of Junior Firpo, but Alioski's larger-than-life personality and role in the promotion season means he is fondly remembered by fans.
Laurens De Bock
Arriving from Club Brugge in January 2018, De Bock made just appearances for Leeds, before he was sent on four different loan moves including back to Belgium to play for Zulte Waregem who he signed for in May 2022. One of the bigger transfer flops in recent seasons.
Cameron Borthwick-Jackson
On loan from Manchester United, Borthwick-Jackson played just six times for Leeds in the 2017/18 season, with four of his appearances coming in the deep EFL Cup run that year. A catastrophic performance in the shock FA Cup defeat to Newport County in January that season saw his loan quickly cancelled.
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