LUCAS WORTH NEW DEAL, AND A PLACE - OPTA

RECENT media speculation surrounding the position of South African defender Lucas Radebe at Leeds after the signing of Rio Ferdinand has been quashed by the captain signing an extension to his current contract, but Opta asks whether Radebe's loyalty will be fully rewarded by the Yorkshire club.

At 31 years of age, Radebe is no spring chicken - especially not compared to his central defensive partners Jonathon Woodgate (20) and new-boy Ferdinand (22).

And, as demonstrated at Leicester City two weeks ago, manager David O'Leary's switch to a 3-5-2 formation did not achieve the desired effect, with Leeds conceding three sloppy goals in the opening half-hour.

So, if playing former Kaizer Chiefs' star Radebe along with both Woodgate and Ferdinand proves to be impractical for the Whites, then which of the three should the former Arsenal centre half utilise.

Perhaps surprisingly, it is Radebe who appears to come out on top, having won more tackles than either of the other two, and also completing more vital interceptions of the ball.

The South African has won 30 tackles this season - three more than Woodgate and five more than new signing Ferdinand - while the man who just picked up the Fifa fair play award has also slid in to make 12 interceptions in 2000-01. Woodgate and Ferdinand can only boast seven interceptions apiece so far this season.

But most shocking of all is that Radebe is the most accurate passer of the ball, which is ironic since one of Ferdinand's strengths is his distribution. The experienced defender finds a team-mate with 78% of his passes - eight percentage points more than either of the other two.

Yet, despite this, Radebe was left on the bench last Saturday at Southampton and Leeds promptly went down by one goal to nil.

Although there was little the Whites' defence could have done about James Beattie's winner, Ferdinand and Woodgate only made 10 clearances between them during the 90 minutes - just two more than Radebe managed on his own before he was sent off after 67 minutes in Leeds' previous game against Leicester.

The South African international is now pledging his future to Elland Road for the next four years, and looks integral to Leeds ambition in the Premiership.

By having a choice between three quality central defenders, O'Leary is signalling his intention for the Whites to challenge the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal.

If Leeds are to continue with their preferred 4-4-2 formation, on this evidence it looks like dropping Radebe in favour of his two youngsters could be a wrong move.