By Daniel Feliciano

23rd Apr, 2022 | 4:10pm

Leeds United planning to loan out young players this summer - Phil Hay

Leeds United will give more consideration to loaning out young players this summer to get them more regular first-team football, according to Phil Hay.

Former manager Marcelo Bielsa wasn’t keen on the loan system, often preferring to keep young players at Thorp Arch and help them develop himself.

But after seeing the success of Cody Drameh at Cardiff, who left against Bielsa’s wishes, and a plan to create clearer lines between academy and first-team under Jesse Marsch there has been a change in strategy.

A report by Hay in The Athletic says that the club will be more receptive to loan offers for young players, with the aim to get them playing more regularly elsewhere if they won’t play at Elland Road.

They say the club have reverted to a more traditional set-up and that will mean players are more likely to leave for regular game time.

The club have previously turned down interest in Crysencio Summerville, Charlie Cresswell, Lewis Bate and Sam McGurk.

Good news

This can only be seen as a positive thing for the Leeds United academy and the development of the young players at the club.

Bielsa was very unorthodox in his approach, being very hands on with the Under-23’s and even having an input on the team selection with the youngsters.

But Marsch is keen to be less involved in that aspect, although there will be uniformity in the instructions and playing styles in case players do go in either direction during the season.

The likes of Cresswell and Summerville are in that strange situation where they’re too good for youth football but not quite at the level of the first-team, and that makes a loan perfect for them.

They can develop and play elsewhere, while Leeds can then make a decision on them at a later date after seeing how they cope rather than just on the training ground.

In other Leeds news, Leeds want to sign in-demand 18 y/o who would compete for first-team spot according to Phil Hay