Twelve goals in nine matches for Sonny Perkins. Eight goals in six matches for Mateo Joseph. Midfield dominance and the England under-19 captaincy for Darko Gyabi. First-team inclusion at 15-years-old for Archie Gray.
These are just some of the facts Leeds United head coach Jesse Marsch cannot ignore when it comes to blooding the club’s next generation of talent. All four have quickly proven they are effectively too good for Premier League 2 Division Two and Marsch needs to find their next challenge.
By the time you’ve read this, Perkins and Joseph could, more likely should, have plundered even more goals in the EFL Trophy at Tranmere Rovers on Tuesday night. They are making it hard for Marsch to ignore them, but when the likes of Joe Gelhardt are failing to make senior squads, it shows how many bodies the American has to juggle.
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Too good for Premier League 2 and no space for Premier League opportunities, Marsch acknowledges there is a gap between the under-21s and first team for that quartet in particular. The head coach admits he cannot keep ignoring someone like Perkins for too much longer.
“The gap right now between the [under-]21s in the first team is a little bit too big,” he said. “In our academy and in our development system, we have a general direction for the entire academy and then we have a general direction for high talents.
“Part of the high talents is challenging them at the levels they need to be challenged in their development path and, for us, guys like Darko, Archie, Sonny, Mateo, we try to include them in first-team training almost every day because them being around that level is very, very important for their development and their confidence.
“The beauty of having those guys around is I don't think anyone in our squad treats them as young players or development players. They see how good they are and how much they fit in.
“Eventually, I would like to give those players bigger and bigger opportunities in the Prem, in cup matches and we'll see how everything pans out. Certainly, the one that comes to mind is when you see Sonny Perkins right now scoring every game, at least one goal, and developing within the idea of how we want to play football.
“You start to feel like he deserves big chances and big moments and he needs them. Let's see, let's see what happens here in the next weeks and months, but I'm certainly, with all four of those guys, really pleased.”
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