Leeds United haven’t appointed a new head coach just yet but Charlie Cresswell will already be plotting ways to try and catch his eye over the next month or so. Cresswell has been named in Lee Carsley’s England U21s squad for this month’s European U21s Championships and while he will be focused on trying to get his hands on some international silverware, he’ll be thinking about next season with Leeds.
Whatever division Leeds found themselves playing in, this summer was always going to be a big one for the defender as he strives to carve out a career at Elland Road. Having emerged through the youth ranks to make his debut under Marcelo Bielsa in 2021, Cresswell made five Premier League appearances in white before his season-long loan to Millwall materialised last July.
It was in south London where the 20-year-old got his first regular taste of men’s football and in 30 appearances under Gary Rowett, he managed to underline his enormous talent and potential. He grew to become a crowd favourite at The Den and his performances over the second half of the season helped the club to within touching distance of securing a play-off place.
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As such, his pre-season plan was always to try and establish himself in the senior picture at Thorp Arch and Leeds’ relegation to the Championship will only bolster his chances of doing that. Unfortunately, he won’t be given the opportunity to make his mark from day one of pre-season, with the group stage at the U21 Euros concluding just a few days before training is due to begin.
But, he can send a firm message of intent to United's incoming head coach, who the club hope to have in place sooner rather than later, by performing well in Georgia and Romania. Just earning a spot in Carsley’s starting XI would be seen as a big victory for Cresswell given the talent that he will be travelling alongside to the tournament.
Levi Colwill of Chelsea appears to be leading centre-back candidate given he was asked to train with the senior England squad this week. But, Taylor Harwood-Bellis of Manchester City, who is fresh from winning promotion while on loan at Burnley, will fancy his chances of minutes, as will Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite, having spent the season playing at the heart of PSV Eindhoven’s backline.
Cresswell has his work cut out, then, given the tough competition, but a strong showing with the Three Lions can set him up perfectly for the campaign to come. The same, in fairness, can be said about Leeds’ five other representatives at the tournament, with Illan Meslier (France), Wilfried Gnonto (Italy), Crysencio Summerville (Netherlands) Kristoffer Klaesson and Leo Hjelde (both Norway), taking part, too.
Given the opportunity in front of him, though, Cresswell will be perhaps more eager than most to shine before getting back to Thorp Arch, after a short break of course, and giving his new coach some food for thought ahead of the Championship's first round of fixtures in early August.
