YouTuber Conor McGilligan has urged new Leeds United manager Javi Gracia to phase out captain Liam Cooper from the club's starting XI.

What's the latest on Liam Cooper and Leeds?

It's been a complicated season for the centre-back for a number of reasons. First of all, his team have struggled in the Premier League and could well be relegated as they currently sit 19th in the division.

But on a more personal note, Cooper will be disappointed as he has struggled to keep himself fit. Indeed, he missed the first six matches of the season through injury and after a spell back in the team, he been sidelined again in recent weeks.

As a result, he has yet to play under new manager Gracia with his last game coming in February – which also happened to be former manager Jesse Marsch's last match in charge (via LeedsLive).

With the player out, McGilligan has suggested that his return should only see him handed a spot on the bench, suggesting that it was the right time to move on from Cooper as a first-choice centre-back option.

He explained on the One Leeds Fan Channel, saying: “For me, Liam Cooper comes back in, but on the bench.

"I think you look at someone like Diogo Monteiro, who we obviously got in January, and I think you maybe just drop him out and put Cooper in there.

“But I think when you're looking at someone like Pascal [Struijk], who is a much better defender, in my opinion, in terms of quality than Liam Cooper – who really shouldn't be getting into the starting XI now above both Robin [Koch] and Max [Wober] – I can't see how that is a realistic scenario, to be quite honest with you.

"I don't think it's something that we should be looking at. I don't think it's something that we should really be entertaining.

“I think Coops comes back in, he's a voice from the changing rooms, but this is exactly the moment that we need Coops to almost be phased out.

"And I think we're going to see that with a lot of Leeds' old guard at the minute because I think we're moving to a new era now hopefully in the Premier League.”

Should Liam Cooper start at Leeds?

As club captain, having made over 200 appearances for the club (260 to be precise), it can't be understated just how great a servant Cooper has been.

After all, he was the man wearing the armband when the Whites managed to get promoted back into the Premier League after a 16-year absence.

And while he's still only 31 years of age, injury issues have limited him to just 12 league starts this term, suggesting that he can perhaps no longer be relied upon in the heart of the defence as he once was. After all, he is five years older than the next senior Leeds centre-back Robin Koch (who is 26).

With that in mind, when fully fit to start again, it will be interesting to see if he plays. Perhaps Gracia will feel as though it's time to move on, or maybe the Spaniard will call upon the defender's experience to guide the team through a tricky relegation battle.