Teenage Leeds United full back Robbie Gotts and midfielder Jordan Stevens are among a quartet of young talents in line to be the next starlets promoted from the youth system into Marcelo Bielsa’s first team this season, according to Leeds Live.
The website claim that after their performances for Carlos Corberan’s under-23 side the 18-year-old duo, along with defenders Aapo Halme and Hugo Diaz, the four are the next future stars set to follow in the footsteps of so many before them and make the step up into the senior side before the end of the campaign.
Bielsa has not been afraid to show his faith in the talent of tomorrow, bringing the likes of Jamie Shackleton and Jack Clarke into the first team setup, and the report states that the talent shown by the current under-23s means there could be a place for them too before too long.
Opinion
While Bielsa’s show of faith in the club’s youth system is great to see, it is not a replacement for ready made talent, and if the club are expecting him to dip into the under-23s and under-18s if he needs a player, then that is a squad issue which needs to be addressed. It is clear to see that the side available to the Argentine boss is already pretty thin when it comes to quality in depth, and while the starting XI might have back up, there must be questions asked over whether it is good enough to sustain a push for a promotion spot this season. With January around the corner, perhaps Bielsa needs to get some of the next generation in and around the first team – especially the defenders – and judge whether they have what it takes to step into the void in case of an absence. If the answer is no, then some reinforcements from elsewhere need to be signed – or the club will face the disappointment of missing out on a chance to return to the Premier League.