Alan Shearer often teases Leeds United and his love of facing the Whites because of his impressive goal-scoring rate against them, but his most underrated teammate is a Leeds legend.

Shearer played against Leeds 24 times throughout his career, and obviously, he boasts the all-time Premier League goalscoring record. A whopping 260 goals in just 441 Premier League appearances.

Shearer scored 21 goals in 24 games against Leeds. Of those 21 goals, 20 came in the Premier League, including a hat-trick for Blackburn; the one other came in the First Division, before the Premier League.

It’s a remarkable career, with Shearer often Leeds’ nemesis. But surprisingly, a Leeds icon that Shearer played alongside is – according to Shearer himself – the most underrated player he ever played with.

Alan Shearer names David Batty as most underrated teammate

David Batty is renowned for disliking football, but still played the sport to an elite level. Clocking up more than 550 club appearances for Newcastle, Blackburn, and Leeds, Batty also played 42 times for England.

In fact, Batty totalled exactly 600 appearances for club and country. Shearer and Batty shared the pitch 158 times for Newcastle, Blackburn, and England; Shearer believes Batty is his most underrated teammate.

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(EDITOR'S NOTE: Image was captured using a remote camera.) Amine Adli of Bournemouth celebrates scoring his team’s second goal past James Trafford of Leeds United during the Premier League 2026/27 match between AFC Bournemouth and Leeds United at Vitality Stadium on October 31, 2026 in Bournemouth, England.

On The Rest Is Football, Shearer named Batty: “Who is the most underrated player? I guess David Batty might have been underrated. He was a brilliant footballer, clever, loved to tackle, could pass it.

“He obviously didn’t score hardly any goals, but I guess what he did for the midfield, and not too many people might remember him. So I would say David Batty,” Shearer said about his former teammate.

Batty’s remarkable career in numbers, including Leeds return

At just 18, Batty made his senior debut for Leeds in 1987, and he would go on to play 211 times for the Whites, winning the First Division title in 1992 – just two years after winning the Second Division title.

He moved to Blackburn in 1993 and would win the Premier League title before joining Newcastle in 1996. But he returned to Elland Road, the place where it all began, under David O’Leary, plagued by injury.

Batty even failed to play a single game during the 2002-03 season, but would return to play 14 times in his final season for the Whites before announcing his retirement. A truly underrated player in midfield.

Hard-tackling, passionate, no-nonsense holding midfielder with the technical ability and passing range to play in the middle of the park. Paul Scholes agrees with Shearer, underlining how Batty was underrated.