Leeds United sign James Debayo from Watford
Leeds United have signed young defender James Debayo from Watford with the England Under-15s international spotted holding a Leeds shirt at Elland Road.
The ever-reliable LUFC Youth Academy Twitter account shared the news on Thursday afternoon as they reported that Debayo, 15, has penned a two-year scholarship deal with the Whites and will play for the Under-18s.
Rising Ballers reported on Twitter last month that Leeds had beaten Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham, Brighton and Southampton in the race to sign Debayo.
Another one in
There’s somewhat of a transfer blizzard at Leeds right now with Victor Orta striking deals left, right and centre.
Since the start of last week we’ve seen Amari Miller, Jack Harrison, Junior Firpo and Sean McGurk all arrive in West Yorkshire.
You can now add Debayo to that ever-growing list.
It’s a good strategy by Leeds to continue plucking talent from elsewhere in England to strengthen the numbers in their academy and youth teams.
Debayo’s clearly a talent based on the number – and quality – of clubs who were interested in taking him but Leeds have trumped them all.
Is Marcelo Bielsa playing a role in that?
The Argentine isn’t scared of promoting youth players to the senior squad if they impress him so we can probably expect to see Debayo in a few years’ time if Leeds continue with their strategy of offering youngsters a chance.
Not only can it make money in the long term but it can also attract players like Debayo because they see the club as a better chance of breaking into first-team football.
In other Leeds United news, Ashley Cole got emotional on live TV after sharing what he told Kalvin Phillips at Wembley.