Recruitment for Leeds United’s future does not stop with the departure of Victor Orta. The director of football was in ultimate charge of the talent arriving at Elland Road, but the strings are still being pulled by those who have driven youth recruitment for several years.
Head of academy Adam Underwood and head of emerging talent Craig Dean have been key figureheads at the top of the Thorp Arch production line. Cody Drameh, Sam Greenwood, Joe Gelhardt, Leo Hjelde, Sonny Perkins, Darko Gyabi and Lewis Bate are all recent, domestic under-21 recruits with the makings of a first-team future in front of them.
The addition of talent from further afield to those gems Leeds continue to find from Yorkshire remains the DNA Underwood wants to subscribe to this summer. A replacement for Orta is expected, whoever the majority owner may be in the close season, but Underwood and Dean march on with a first-team vision in mind.
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Asked about his collaboration with Dean and how their framework for summer recruitment will continue without Orta, Underwood said: “It's really important to acknowledge all the players we have recruited up to this point have their own individual plans in their own individual projects.
“We want to see those guys through. That's our responsibility and we wouldn't have brought those players to the club and blended them with our best local talent if we didn't believe out of those crops of players, year on year, we could produce first-team players for Leeds United.
“We will absolutely continue to push and drive youth development in this club and make sure we can realise our vision of developing players for that highest level and pushing them through.
“Recruitment is obviously a key part of that and, of course, we want to continue that commitment and continue our drive to make sure we can turn out players for the football club.”
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