Leeds United officially have one of the most productive academy programmes in English football. The Whites have invested heavily in the youth system at Thorp Arch in recent years and according to the Training Ground Guru’s Academy Productivity Rankings, it seems their efforts are paying dividends.
The West Yorkshire outfit have jumped into the top 10 of the rankings after producing a number of players across the top five leagues during the 2021-22 campaign. Sitting eighth represents huge growth from last year, when Leeds were 16th in the table, which features every Category One, Two and Three academy in the country.
The rankings monitor the number of England-qualified academy graduates who made at least one appearance in the Premier League, Football League or National League last season. Using a list of English male players in the top five leagues, the Training Ground Guru can work out which academy has produced the most players and which has the biggest hit rate when it comes to their production line.
