Leeds United kept themselves in the hunt for automatic promotion as they beat second-placed Brighton and Hove Albion 2-0 at Elland Road on Saturday evening.

A brace from Championship top goalscorer Chris Wood proved to be the difference between the two sides, which leaves Garry Monk’s men eight points behind the Seagulls with eight matches of the season remaining.

With the south coast outfit now losing three of their last five matches, it has kept the Yorkshire team’s hopes of finishing in the top two alive.

One of their star players against Chris Hughton’s team was a surprise inclusion in the starting XI, and he might just have proved that he has a big part to play in the Whites’ future.

Kyle Bartley and Pontus Jansson have created a formidable partnership at the heart of Leeds’ defence this season, but the latter was dropped in place of Liam Cooper on Saturday, and it was a move that paid off for Monk.

The 25-year-old, who was rewarded with a late call-up to the Scotland national team on Monday, came out of the clash at Elland Road with some impressive stats despite making just 17 appearances in all competitions prior to this fixture, and three in 2017.

The centre-back won 100% of his tackles and four aerial duels, while he only committed one foul.

Cooper showed his commitment to the Leeds cause by making 13 clearances and two interceptions, while he also proved his ability on the ball with a passing accuracy of 85%.

United fans may not have been impressed when they saw that the Scot had been included over Jansson an hour before kick-off on Saturday, but they may have just been convinced that he can now play a big part in their future, whichever division they find themselves in.

Monk has certainly given himself a selection headache too having broken up the successful relationship between Bartley and Jansson, but it is one that he will be glad to have.