Leeds United U21s have reached the half way stage of their season and they head into the World Cup break in a comfortable position. The Whites are six points clear at the top of the Premier League 2 Division 2 table and having dropped just two points all season, they’re well on their way towards promotion back to the top tier.
As they begin their two-month winter break, Leeds Live take a look back at some of the talking points to emerge from the season so far.
On track
It’s fair to say Michael Skubala will be happy with his side’s efforts since he arrived at the club at the end of July. They won 5-2 in their opening game against Derby County and that set the tone for what has been a superb season so far.
Read more: Hat-trick hero Max Dean in determined mood as Leeds United U21s dominance reinforced
The Whites were disappointed to fall out of Division 1 last season, but, as they sit on top of the table with a six-point cushion, they’re en route towards bouncing back at the first time of asking. They’ve dominated some teams, high scoring wins over Nottingham Forest, Southampton and Stoke City jump immediately to mind, but they’ve had to grind out a few results, too.
Leeds showed their resilience and character at the Stadium of Light to grab a 1-0 win over Sunderland and they were pushed all the way by Aston Villa, too. United still have 11 games to go, but they shouldn’t fear anything moving forward.
The only disappointment has come in the Papa John’s Trophy as the Whites failed to make it out of their group. However, Skubala will be encouraged by the fact Leeds more than held their own against Tranmere Rovers, Bolton Wanderers and Crewe Alexandra.
Goals galore
United are out on their own when it comes to goals scored per game this season. Leeds have bagged 33 goals in just nine league games, producing an average of 3.66 goals every time they take to the field.
At the time of writing, Millwall are the only U21s side in the top three tiers to score more than Leeds (34), but given the Lions have played three more games, Leeds’ total stands out. Of those 33, 18 have come through either Mateo Joseph or Sonny Perkins, but the goals have been spread out evenly throughout the side.
In fact, 14 players have scored for the U21s in all competitions this season, including Patrick Bamford, who bagged a hat-trick in the win over Southampton and club captain Liam Cooper. Max Dean became the third player to record a three-goal haul on Monday with his treble against Newcastle United.
Recruitment success
The Whites have put plenty of energy into their academy recruitment over the last few years and it seems as though it's starting to pay off. The likes of Sam Greenwood, Crysencio Summerville and Joe Gelhardt are now fixtures within the first-team environment and a number of players aren’t thought to be far behind.
Joseph, Leo Hjelde and Cody Drameh are pushing, but Perkins and Darko Gyabi have attracted plenty of attention since their arrivals over the summer. Both players have been asked to train with the first-team under Jesse Marsch and they’ve been regularly mentioned by the head coach in press conferences.
The summer signings could be set to make their senior debuts for the Whites on Wednesday night in the Carabao Cup at Wolves and they’ll be expected to kick on and make homes for themselves in the senior set-up over the next year or two.
Joy for Joseph
The Spanish forward started as he meant to go on in August with four goals against Derby County and he’s managed to show that sort of devastating form on a regular basis over the first few months of the campaign. He’s bagged three hat-tricks and 12 goals in total, including one in the Papa John’s Trophy win at Prenton Park at the start of October.
Joseph is so much more than just goals, though. He’s captained the U21s side on a number of occasions and he leads from the front with his pressing game and energy off the ball.
As a result, he now stands on the very edge of the first-team. Joseph travelled with the squad to Anfield last month before being named on the bench for the first time last Saturday against Bournemouth. He’s expected to travel to Molineux on Wednesday and he’ll make his senior debut for the club if he gets on.
The future is bright
While the above names have stolen the headlines more often than not this season, there have been a number of impressive performers making the permanent leap from the Under-18s set-up, too. Jeremiah Mullen was one of the most impressive performers before he picked up an injury in September, while Keenan Carole, Morten Spencer and Max Dean have all done well when they’ve played.
However, the likes of Charlie Allen, James Debayo, Joe Snowdon and Cian Coleman have all caught the eye over the last two or three weeks, taking the step up in their stride and establishing themselves within Skubala’s plans.
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