Academy Dreams: Leeds United was released this morning with football fans getting a rare glimpse behind the scenes at Elland Road. The six-part documentary, which is available to stream on Amazon Prime, follows the fortunes of Leeds’ young stars as they look to break into the first-team.
Cameras focus on the likes of Joe Gelhardt, Sam Greenwood and Charlie Cresswell and supporters are treated to insight into their lives last season. A number of the players on the show have either progressed to the first-team or left the club on loan this season, but who would feature in the show if a second season was filmed?
Here, Leeds Live take a look at five current talents within the youth system at Thorp Arch, who all have their own ambitions of breaking through into the first-team.
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Darko Gyabi
Leeds paid a reported fee of £5m to take Gyabi from Manchester City over the summer and it’s not been hard to understand why. The midfielder has been superb in Michael Skubala’s Under-21s this season, showcasing his natural ability and skill in every outing he has made for the Whites.
The 18-year-old is silky smooth on the ball, beating men on the regular with a half-turn or swift flick of either boot. He’s strong, too, ensuring his Premier League 2 counterparts have found him hard to handle at times.
Gyabi scored his first goal for the Whites’ youth side in the 5-1 win over Nottingham Forest last month and his form has also seen him called up to the England U19s set-up. The south Londoner accompanied the first-team on their pre-season tour of Australia and he was also named on the bench against Wolves on the opening day of the season.
Mateo Joseph
Joseph certainly made headlines with the way he started the Premier League 2 Division 2 season in August, bagging four at Pride Park against Derby County before finding the back of the net once more against Norwich City. It was a statement of intent from the 18-year-old and it led to the likes of Skubala and Jesse Marsch singling him out for praise.
The Spaniard was signed from Espanyol in January and he has made progress since then, making a home for himself in the U21s side and being invited to train with the first-team. He has, of course, shown off his finishing skills this season, but his movement and hard work off the ball is a joy to watch.
However, it seems he has competition for the U21s top scorer crown.
Sonny Perkins
Perkins just cannot stop scoring. He’s bagged six goals already for the U21s, scoring in every outing he has made in a White shirt so far and he has even carried that form onto the international stage, with a goal for England U19s coming on Wednesday night.
The decision to sign him from West Ham United looks an inspired one and if he can continue on his current trajectory, it might not be long before he is knocking on the door of the first-team picture. Perkins has spent the majority of this season playing on the right side of a front four, but he has posed such a threat cutting in and looking to get a shot away.
Archie Gray
Gray doesn’t turn 17 until March, but he’s already a regular in Skubala’s U21s and he’s training with the first-team on a regular basis, too. The teenager doesn’t lack confidence on the ball, his cameo appearances Down Under were enough to showcase that and as he’s only getting better as he continues to develop and grow.
He’s played in a number of positions this season, with appearances coming in the middle, on the left and he even had a stint at right-back during the 2-1 win at Aston Villa last month. He looks more than comfortable physically, too, despite being so much younger than a majority of the players he’s come up against.
There’s been plenty of talk about Gray’s talent in recent months and he’s one supporters will be keeping a close eye on.
Jeremiah Mullen
The 18-year-old has been a regular in Leeds’ U21s this season and he has certainly looked the part, providing a steady presence in the back line. Mullen featured for the first-team during pre-season against Blackpool and he has built on that performance with four strong showings in the Premier League 2 under Skubala.
He has been a regular with Scotland U19s over the last year or so and he has the potential to play a key role for United’s youth side moving forward this season.
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