Leeds Under-23s have picked up where they left off last season with a second successive win, this time against Ipswich on Friday afternoon.
That follows a 3-2 win against Millwall in their opening game of the new campaign and after a season when they won the PDL North title and beat Birmingham in the PDL National play-off final.
It was no walkover today and a single goal from striker Ryan Edmondson was enough to get the points after Kamil Miazek saved a penalty from the home side in the 72nd minute.
18-year-old Edmondson caught the eye of fans again and some were asking when he would get a chance in the first-team set-up under Marcelo Bielsa. The striker has featured twice for the senior team so far, with one appearance apiece in each of the last two seasons.
Would love to know why Edmondson isn't being given a chance in the 1 st team. He seems to have the scoring knack.
— GJ??? (@Leedsbarmy) August 23, 2019
Edmondson certainly does have the scoring knack, registering 19 goals in a sensational 18/19 season for Carlos Corberans’s Under-23s, and he already looks like a serious unit at the age of just 18.
However, the answer to why he isn’t getting a chance in the first team is a fairly simple one. Patrick Bamford is the number one striker under Bielsa and Eddie Nketiah, who’s already scored twice in two games, can’t even get a start himself.
At the moment it looks like an injury would be the only way Edmondson could force himself into the first-team reckoning.
Get that lad in the first team what else does he have to do ffs https://t.co/X82Xivx2ox
— Jordan Lewis Tennant ?? (@JLTLUFC) August 23, 2019
https://twitter.com/Spenna11/status/1164893459452432384
Ryan Edmondson is a proper striker he needs a loan if we aren't gonna give him a shot
— PablosNutMegs (@2019LeedsUnited) August 23, 2019
Send him out on loan in January, get some proper first team football under his belt and he could be a real asset
— Dan (@DanLUFC_) August 23, 2019
Bielsa works closely with Corberan and Leeds obviously think that their younger players are better served staying in the fold at Leeds and playing with the Under-23s.
There’s plenty of crossover between the two, with Jack Clarke being the most obvious breakthrough player last season. A loan seems highly unlikely, especially as Leeds would want to be able to use him if injuries dictated.
https://twitter.com/Mitchgoddard2/status/1164893661504647168
Edmondson is only 18 and has a long career in front of him. He will know he’s playing under one of the most respected coaches in the world and it’s unlikely he’ll want to leave anytime soon.
We think that he would be looking to make an impact in the first-team squad next season. Another season in the Under-23s will be good for him.
Brilliant ??
— Lizzy Wood (@Lizzyloo88) August 23, 2019