How Jonny Howson is proving class is permanent with Leeds United Under-21s reveal

Jonny Howson is rolling back the years for Leeds United's Under-21s this season.

The 38-year-old first joined Leeds as a youngster all the way back in 1997.

It wouldn't be until 2006 when he would make his professional debut for the Whites in a cup match against Barnet.

Between 2006 to 2012, the midfielder would make 171 competitive appearances for Leeds, becoming an Elland Road favourite in the process.

As such, his return to Leeds in a player-coach role for the Under-21s last year went down extremely well with many supporters.

He's been proving in 2026-27 that he's certainly still in this role to offer as much on the pitch as he can off it too.

How good has Jonny Howson been in Premier League 2 this season?

Indeed, it was only in 2024-25 that Howson was still turning out for Middlesbrough in the Championship.

And whilst he's obviously not the same player he used to be, his evergreen nature has been proven emphatically this season.

Howson has made four appearances for Leeds' Under-21s in Premier League 2 (PL2) so far this term, culminating in 231 minutes of action.

Per FotMob, Howson ranks in the top 5.5 percentile of all PL2 centre-backs (the position he now plays) for his 7.01 recoveries per 90 minutes.

He also ranks in the top 12.7 per cent for his 71.3 successful passes per game, as well as the leading 14.5 per cent for his 92.4 per cent passing accuracy.

Howson is also amongst the top-performing centre-backs per 90 for his 88.8 touches, 1.56 interceptions and 50 per cent dribble success rate.

This Sunday will see Howson swap his Leeds colours for those of one of his former teams, however.

What match is Howson playing in on Sunday?

During his professional career, Howson only represented three clubs: Leeds, Norwich and Middlesbrough.

It was the latter who he played far and away the most for, however, turning out 341 times for Boro between 2017 to 2025.

The Teessiders are celebrating their 150th anniversary year this season, and are holding a legacy match at the Riverside Stadium on Sunday.

Over 30,000 fans have snapped up tickets to see a host of Boro legends pulling on their shirt again, and Howson is one of them.

So, everyone connected with Leeds' Under-21s will hope he doesn't pick up an injury in this match, as he's been a big player for them this season.

The game is scheduled to kick-off at 4pm on Sunday, and match passes to watch the game live are priced at £3 through Middlesbrough's club website.