Leeds United fans will be sitting back and getting stuck into Amazon Prime’s new docuseries ‘Academy Dreams: Leeds United’ this weekend. The show is focused on last season’s under-23s squad and follows their progress as they look to earn a first-team shot at Elland Road.
It’s split into six episodes with each one giving rare insight into the inner workings at Thorp Arch and the lives of those involved. Here, Leeds Live take a look at what happened next to the cast of Academy Dreams.
Charlie Cresswell
Cresswell is one of the key players on the show with his first-team debut and rise being covered extensively. The defender started pre-season with the Whites with the hope of being able to force his way into Jesse Marsch’s plans, but with his path to the senior side appearing crowded, he was allowed to join Championship club Millwall on loan for the season.
Read more: Andrea Radrizzani's verdicts on Leeds United duo Charlie Cresswell and Joe Gelhardt
He’s made quite the impression at The Den, too, it seems. Cresswell scored twice on his debut for the Lions and he found the back of the net once more earlier this month.
Nohan Kenneh
Kenneh spent much of his childhood on the books at Elland Road, but he made the decision to join Scottish Premiership side Hibernian at the end of last season. He never made a first-team appearance for the Whites, but he was thrown straight into the starting line-up by Lee Johnson and, so far, he has made nine appearances for the club.
Sean McGurk
The winger is another who features regularly on the programme with his friendship with Lewis Bate being covered extensively. McGurk remains in Leeds’ U21s squad but his game time probably hasn’t been as regular as he would have hoped, making just three appearances and only one of those has been a start.
He’ll hope to find some traction over the coming months and catch the eye of Michael Skubala.
Amari Miller
Miller arrived at Elland Road with a healthy reputation after breaking through into the first-team during his time at Birmingham City. He hasn’t been able to replicate that feat at Leeds just yet, though, and this season he has seen just 25 minutes of action for the U21s.
He has plenty of competition for places, but like McGurk, he’s another who will be determined to make progress.
Joe Gelhardt
He’s probably the man featured most on the show and it’s also fair to say Gelhardt has been Leeds’ most successful academy product over the last couple of years. The forward has made a home for himself in Marsch’s plans and after starting Leeds’ last game at Brentford, he has made five Premier League appearances this season.
The 20-year-old will be eyeing progress in the period before the World Cup break and that will come by continuing to showcase his considerable talent for the Whites in the top flight.
Lewis Bate
Bate made his first start for Leeds at the back end of last season, stepping into the line-up to face his old side Chelsea back in May. It was a valuable learning experience for the 19-year-old and he’ll be looking to catch the eye this season on loan at Oxford United.
The midfielder has made nine appearances for the League One club and he picked up his first assist last time out in the defeat to MK Dons. He’ll remain with Karl Robinson’s side for the remainder of the season before returning to Elland Road in the summer.
Crysencio Summerville
The Dutchman spoke about his desire to pick up more first-team football in the docuseries and it seems he will get it this season under Jesse Marsch. Summerville has made two top flight appearances so far this season, while he has also made a start in the League Cup against Barnsley.
However, the deadline day departure of Dan James appears to clear the path for Summerville to get more chances in the side and the winger will be keen to play a key role for Marsch as the head coach looks to get some more points on the board before the World Cup.
Sam Greenwood
Greenwood is another who has established himself in the first-team picture since filming stopped at the end of last season. The midfielder made his first start in the do or die clash at Brentford and he has stepped off the bench to make three appearances in the Premier League so far.
Marsch is clearly a fan of his and he’s expected to play a key role off the bench moving forward.
Mateo Joseph
The series covers Joseph’s arrival in West Yorkshire during the January transfer window in detail as viewers are given a glimpse of the detail involved in Leeds’ academy recruitment. Joseph is playing a key role for the U21s at present and he certainly made a statement of intent on the opening day of the new Premier League 2 season with four goals coming against Derby County.
He scored the week after against Norwich City, too, and he’s been singled out for praise from Skubala and Marsch over the last few weeks.
Leo Hjelde
The defender was another who arrived at Leeds during the filming of the programme and he made three appearances for the first-team last season as Marcelo Bielsa’s side struggled for numbers. He’s been a regular in Marsch’s matchday squad this season, too, but he is still waiting to make his first Premier League appearance of the season.
Leeds have high hopes for the Norwegian, as the documentary showcases.
Max Dean
The forward was a regular goalscorer last season in the youth side, but he’s hardly been seen this season for the U21s. Dean has made just one appearance off the bench for Skubala’s side and while he did mark it with a goal, he wasn’t involved when the U21s took on Southampton at Elland Road last week.
Mark Jackson
As the U23s coach at the time, Jackson is a key man in the series, regularly talking viewers through games or a player’s attributes and talents. He left the youth set-up last season, though, to link up with Marsch’s first-team and he has stayed there for the 2022-23 season.
Jackson has been handed set-piece responsibility and the former Leeds player’s work has been hailed by the head coach.
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