Former England international Darren Bent has praised Leeds United defender Liam Cooper for his cameo appearance against Luton Town as reported by Football Insider.
The Whites edged to a 2-1 victory against the Hatters thanks to a last minute own goal and Bent believes that the introduction of Cooper was a ‘blessing in disguise’ for Leeds as he was a commanding presence during the latter stages of the game.
Although Cooper has struggled with niggling injuries so far this campaign, he does offer real leadership qualities to the defence and when he replaced Gaetano Berardi after 59 minutes he helped guide them to six games unbeaten in the league.
Bent was full of praise for Cooper following his substitute appearance: “He’s their captain, he’s their leader and he’s one of their players who has been there and done it before with Leeds.”
“He knows what to expect, so at the same time they need him on the pitch, but if he isn’t on the pitch they need him around the place.”
“He’s been at that club a long time, he knows what it takes to play in front of the fans and yeah it’s a blessing in disguise again that they can call on a player like that to come on, settle everyone down, and then go again.”
Cooper has forged a good partnership with on-loan Brighton defender Ben White although this has somewhat been disrupted due to the captain’s injury problems.
The 28-year-old has been with Leeds since 2014 and his calming presence will be vital for the Elland Road side as they look to keep up their impressive defensive record and push for promotion back to the Premier League.
