Bolton Wanderers boss Ian Evatt has singled out Leeds United duo Sonny Perkins and Darko Gyabi for praise after revealing his future plans to explore the loan market.
The Trotters won 3-0 against Leeds U21s in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday courtesy of goals from Jón Daði Böðvarsson, Amadou Bakayoko and Kieran Sadlier. Nonetheless, Evatt was impressed by a number of the Whites' young prospects and has been keeping in contact with Leeds captain Liam Cooper on the latest developments at Thorp Arch.
Evatt told MEN: "Going back to some conversations, speaking to Liam, he made me aware of a few to keep an eye out for – nothing to do with the game really but more to do with maybe loan options in the future – to see who is doing well for them.
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“Sonny [Perkins] was one of those guys who Liam has been very impressed with and I thought last night, he was very impressive. Some of his control, ability to bring other people into play and movement was excellent. I thought there were a number of players like that.
“The boy who was involved in the Kalvin Phillips transfer to Manchester City [Darko Gyabi] was also very impressive in midfield. They have spent a lot of money on that team and some of them are way out of our price range, but you take admiring glances at young players learning and developing. I thought the way they came and tried to implement their game plan on us was very good.
“I said to the lads today, the disappointment on their coaching staff and players’ faces yesterday like they expected to win – it’s no bad thing really. They have obviously got into a habit of winning, they have been performing really well."
Gyabi arrived from Manchester City in the summer and has been a regular fixture in the heart of midfield for the U21s. Perkins also joined the Whites during the summer transfer window and has generated a huge amount of excitement with his performances at youth level for both club and country.
The 18-year-old has scored eight goals in nine matches for the U21s across all competitions and made his U19 debut for England in September. The forward, who was signed from West Ham United, marked his debut with a goal, before scoring a hat-trick on his second cap against Georgia.
In total, Perkins has scored a phenomenal five goals in his first three games for England U19s.
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