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.
