Confirmed: Leeds plot major transformation for future success – senior figure raves over two men
Leeds United academy manager Adam Underwood has confirmed that the club are undergoing a major transformation at their youth level in order to guarantee success for the future.
The White have a proud history of bringing top young talents through their youth system at Thorpe Arch, the side’s training complex, and have seen a number of their graduates go on to perform both in the top flight and on the international stage.
However, Underwood has confirmed that there is a huge change of tactic after a disappointing campaign last season, and has raved over the money invested by owner Andrea Radrizzani, as well as the experience and knowledge that director of football Victor Orta has brought in to help turn the fortunes of the teams below the senior side around.
He told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “Andrea came in and wanted to make the academy a central part of the plan going forward. He invested and we’ve arrived in a very different place to where we were nine months ago.
“There were 18s getting pushed up which was decimating them. Any academy or club that wants to be in the Premier League has to cast its net further than its own doorstep.
“The strengths Victor brings are contacts and the knowledge of the European market. I can categorically say it’s the strongest recruitment set-up we’ve had in my time here.
“Our vision is to have players ready to transition all over the pitch. Wherever there’s a need in the first team, we’re able to meet it.”
Football Insider verdict
The academy setup at Leeds is part of the club’s proud tradition and to hear it is set to flourish once again is exciting news for everyone invested in the Whites. While Victor Orta might have been criticised for his work at a senior level, it seems as though he is also preparing the club for the future, so fans might want to wait a few years before pelting him with insults and demanding his exit. There had been fears over the club losing its identity through a number of foreign talents linking up, but it is a progressive move to bring Leeds in line with Premier League sides, developing young talents from near and far to move into the first team. Those complaints should dissipate pretty quickly if the starlets of the future help the club into the top flight, so again, patience is needed.
In other Leeds United news, the club have welcomed men from Manchester City and Manchester United through their doors.
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