Joe Littlewood on trial at Sunderland, could leave Elland Road
Leeds United youth player Joe Littlewood is currently on trial with League One Sunderland and played for their Under-23s in a 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa.
The 18-year-old has almost exclusively played Under-18s football for the Whites this season with just one appearance for the club’s Under-23s where he picked up a yellow card.
The Black Cats have decided to take a look at the Englishman until the end of the season on a non-contract basis before making any transfer decision.
Sunderland Under-23s manager Michael Proctor has been impressed by Littlewood so far but insists that no decision can be made right now with the transfer window firmly shut until June.
“He’s a player that we like,” Proctor said, as quoted by the Sunderland Echo.
“Because he’s been registered with another club it’s not something that we can do straight away so that will probably be one that we revisit in the summer.
“He can stay on a sort of a non-contract basis until the end of the season and then we can look at it again in the summer.”
First of many
The loss of Littlewood won’t cause many Leeds United fans to lose sleep but the knock-on effect of youngsters leaving the club could cause some issues.
Fellow academy star Owen Bray looks already set to leave THrop Arch in favour of League One high-flyers Wigan Athletic [Alan Nixon via his Patreon] and who is to say more won’t follow suit?
When other Under-18s and Under-23s players notice their peers leaving the club for new adventures elsewhere, it could spark something inside of them that makes them also want to leave if a better opportunity arises.
For many of them, first-team football is what they want and they are far more likely to get that lower down the Football League than they are at Leeds in the top flight.
Having said that, very few (if any) Premier League teams have given as many chances to their own youth players this season than the Whites so maybe there is a chance for them here after all.
In other Leeds Untied news, a Championship manager has warned Jesse Marsch away from making a move for his star player this summer.