There’s been a change of tack at Leeds United this season when it comes to the progression and development of their best and most promising young players. Under Marcelo Bielsa, Leeds appeared somewhat reluctant to entertain loan moves for those on the fringes of the first-team squad.
It’s not hard to see why, either, given the small group of senior players Bielsa had to work with. He knew opportunities for game time would crop up for the likes of Crysencio Summerville, Charlie Cresswell and Joe Gelhardt and the more time they spent working under him and within his system, the more likely they were to take them.
His use of youth players cannot be faulted either as the Argentine took interest and pride in their growth at Thorp Arch. That’s not to say youngsters didn’t leave Leeds on loan on Bielsa’s watch because plenty did, but more often than not, if they were included in the first-team picture, they stayed.
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This time around, though, things have been a little different. With the hierarchy succeeding in adding depth to the senior squad, Leeds have utilised the loan system in order to find game time for those that need it.
A total of 15 players are currently out on loan from Elland Road and while that does include the likes of Helder Costa and Diego Llorente, who will likely leave permanently in the summer, a large chunk of them are youngsters who will be better for the experience of getting regular minutes at a lower level.
Take Cresswell as an example. The defender was always going to find opportunities hard to come by this season and so he was allowed to join Millwall on a loan until the end of the season. His time at The Den has been challenging for him at times and he hasn’t always been in Gary Rowett’s starting XI as the Londoners push for promotion to the Premier League.
But, he’s responded well to test of character and, at the time of writing, he has started the last 11 league games for Millwall, nailing down that spot at centre-back and earning plenty of praise along the way. The England under-21 international had made just seven senior appearances before the switch, but he will return to Thorp Arch at the end of the season as a well-rounded and confident centre-back and he’ll be backing himself to challenge for a spot in Leeds’ backline in the new campaign.
The same can be said for Leo Hjelde, who has been earning rave reviews with his performances at Rotherham United in the second tier. The Norwegian only joined the Championship strugglers in January, but he made an instant impact, stepping into Matt Taylor’s side at left-back and helping them secure a big win over promotion chasers Blackburn Rovers.
Hjelde has established himself as a crowd favourite at the New York Stadium and he’ll hope to play a key role in helping the club avoid relegation to League One. Cody Drameh had a little more experience when he joined Luton Town in the final few days of January.
That came from the loan move he pushed through last season to Cardiff City, where he won the club’s player of the season award. It seems he has picked up where he left off in the Championship, producing quality performances for the Hatters and nailing down the club’s right wing-back role.
The 21-year-old might have plenty of competition for a spot in the Whites’ side, but he’s certainly doing all he can to put himself in the best position possible when his time at Kenilworth Road comes to an end. He could even return from his loan with a promotion on his CV, given Luton are currently fourth in the Championship table.
Lewis Bate has seen his loan at Oxford United cut unfortunately short through injury, but he was a regular for the League One outfit before then, too. A case could even be made to suggest Joe Gelhardt will be better for his experience with Tony Mowbray’s Sunderland.
Gelhardt made the move to the Stadium of Light in January following the arrival of Georginio Rutter, and while he has seen plenty of match action, he hasn’t managed to settle in the way he would have hoped. He has picked up a goal and two assists so far but he hasn’t quite found consistency in his performance while leading the line on his own for the Black Cats, with Ross Stewart's injury somewhat changing his brief at the Stadium of Light.
Once again, he’ll learn plenty from the time he has had competing regularly in the Championship, though, as he strives to take the next step in his career and establish himself in West Yorkshire.
It’s fair to say all of the above could feasibly be involved in the senior set-up next season and it’s hard to say they won’t have benefitted from the opportunities they have been given to go out and play regularly. The success stories are there to see and Leeds will be delighted with the progress they have seen from those plying their trade elsewhere.
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