Leeds United: Daniel Farke drops ‘important’ Thorp Arch hint amid Elland Road ‘philosophy’
Daniel Farke has dropped a hint about which of the youth stars at Thorp Arch could be considered for a Leeds United debut next season.
The manager, who was appointed ahead of the 2023/24 season, outlined how blooding young talent is part of his philosophy at Elland Road, with much of the current squad 24 years old or younger.
Archie Gray and Mateo Joseph are prime examples of youngsters that the Whites have brought through to the first team and are making a huge impact on the pitch.
Speaking to Yorkshire Evening Post on Thursday (7 March), Farke said: “We believe in our youth and it’s one of the cornerstones in our philosophy as a club,” Farke said. “It’s quite important we work on a top level in the academy because we rely on that.
“Obviously, we still have an eye on the development and there are definitely one or two players who also caught our eye and we are pretty, pretty careful on following them. But I don’t want to speak too much about names otherwise they would have too much weight on their shoulders.
“One of them who caught our eye is at the moment also a bit injured. Perhaps you can guess a bit, but I don’t want to put too many names in public.”
Could Daniel Farke call upon his youth players at Leeds United this season?
With Leeds’ current standing in the Championship, five points off league leaders Leicester City and battling against Ipswich Town and Southampton, it is highly unlikely that any youth stars will be brought through to the senior team before the end of the season.
The current squad is already young as it is, with 22-year-old Crysencio Summerville, 21-year-old Georginio Rutter and 20-year-old Wilfried Gnonto playing a significant role in the league season so far.
Add Gray, Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev to the mix and it immediately sheds a light on the impeccable job that the Whites have done so far this season, keeping an unbeaten streak at Elland Road all campaign.
However, Farke’s hint would suggest that Wales youth international Charlie Crew could be in with a shout of being called up to the senior team in preseason ahead of the 2024/25 season, whether Leeds achieve promotion to the Premier League or not.
As a mainstay in the Leeds U21s side, his absence has been noted as they lost 2-0 to Leicester on Monday (4 March). It would suggest that the 17-year-old has been sidelined and could very much be one of the players that Farke is referring to.
In other Leeds United news, a Sky Sports pundit has raged over a controversial incident in the Whites game against Stoke City.
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