Leeds United released Swansea striker Oli McBurnie at the age of just 15 for being too small, according to the Scottish Sun.
The newspaper claims that the now 6ft 2in centre-forward was let go because he wasn’t big enough at the time and he almost quit the sport.
However, he has managed to get back on track and is currently out on loan at Championship outfit Barnsley from Premier League club Swansea.
The 21-year-old has been tearing up the division during his loan spell and has six goals in nine appearances.
He is a striker by trade and has also found great success by starting on the left flank for Barnsley.
McBurnie’s form at Oakwell has seen him rewarded with a call-up to the Scotland squad and he could make his senior international debut over the next couple of weeks.
OPINION
Leeds clearly acted too hastily with McBurnie and ironically he has grown into a target man after being deemed too small at Elland Road. The striker is proving in the second half of the season that he can be highly effective in the Championship and experiencing regular football is brilliant for his development. Paul Heckingbottom’s side could have done with someone exactly like McBurnie this campaign and they have lacked serious options in attack, despite Pierre-Michel Lasogga springing into life late on. The Yorkshire giants just missed out on the play-offs last campaign and realistically were never going to get close to the top six after they failed to replace Chris Wood over the summer.