Leeds United announce 10 new academy arrivals on two-year deals - including brother of senior star - YEP 21/7/23

Leeds United have confirmed 10 players have signed two-year scholarship deals with the club

By Ben McKenna

Leeds United have signed 10 players to two-year scholarship terms with the club, with the brother of current first-team player Charlie Cresswell included amongst those to join the club’s academy.

Alfie Cresswell and nine others - Devon Brockie, Coban Bird, Alex Baird, Sam Chambers, Rhys Chadwick, Harvey Vincent, Lleyton Brown, Joe Billet and Owen Grainger - have all put pen to paper on academy deals.

A Leeds statement confirmed: “Leeds United are proud to announce that 10 players have agreed scholarship terms with the club, all signing two-year deals with the academy. Alongside developing their footballing ability at Thorp Arch, a scholarship with the Whites academy also offers a variety of educational programmes including the BTEC diploma and A Levels, to help extend their skillset both on and off the pitch.”

It continued: “Everyone at the club wishes our new scholars well as they continue with their Leeds United journey, at Thorp Arch.”

Some fine talent has been produced by the Whites academy over the years. The likes of Jonathan Woodgate and Paul Robinson won the FA Youth Cup with Leeds in 1997 before moving into the club’s senior side.

James Milner made his Leeds debut aged 16 and became the youngest player to score in the Premier League at the time with a goal in a 2-1 win over Sunderland. The 37-year-old has joined Brighton on a one-year deal after leaving Liverpool and has made 619 Premier League appearances, and is just 33 games from matching the all-time record set by Gareth Barry.

Aaron Lennon, Fabian Delph and Alan Smith are some other recognisable players who have come through the club’s academy while Kalvin Phillips is the most well-known graduate from recent times.

The midfielder left Leeds for last season’s treble-winners Manchester City 12 months ago in a deal worth around £42million. A new documentary charting the rise of the Leeds-born England international has aired on Amazon Prime this week.