OPINION
Leeds should be alarmed that David Pleat was at Vicarage Road on Monday to watch their Under-23s tear Watford apart.
A resounding 3-0 triumph was further proof of the vast improvement of the Yorkshire giants’ youth set-up and the development of the young players under the increasingly impressive Under-23s manager Carlos Corberan.
The win was achieved with only one senior player, Izzy Brown, the Chelsea loanee still building up his match fitness after 14 months in which he has played just 10 minutes of senior football.
Scouts in Attendance, a reliable Twitter account that breaks and accumulates recruitment news, has reported that former Spurs manager and director of football Pleat was on scouting duty for the club on Monday.
#thfc scout David Pleat watched #watford U23 0-3 #lufc U23 on Mon…Pleat also saw 17yo Watford FW Ryan Cassidy (contract to 2020) impress in FA Youth Cup last month, although he came off the bench late in this one pic.twitter.com/be1lglb3Kw
— Scouts in Attendance (@scoutsattending) March 6, 2019
Given that Pleat has the ear of chairman Daniel Levy, who was persuaded to sign Dele Alli by the 74-year-old football veteran, Leeds should be concerned.
Jack Clarke was linked with a move to Tottenham in January and it’s likely that plenty of other Elland Road youngsters are catching the eye of the Premier League giants.
Fellow teenagers Jamie Shackleton, Jordan Stevens, Kun Temenuzhkov and Leif Davis have been among those who have impressed for the Under-23s in recent months as they shine under the command of Corberan, who is also part of Marcelo Bielsa’s senior coaching staff at Elland Road.
Pleat’s views on footballers, including young ones making their way in the game, are still held in great store by Levy and other football chairmen.
Every elite club is always on the lookout for the next big thing, an unpolished gem who has the potential to develop into a superstar.
Pleat’s witnessing of a Leeds youth-team masterclass is a concern amid growing interest in the rising stars at Elland Road.