Leeds new-boy Amari Miller: Quick, skillful and desperate to impress at Elland Road - The Athletic 29/6/21
By Gregg Evans
Amari Miller’s smile said it all. The 18-year-old feels
wanted at Leeds United, the club he has just joined after spending his
childhood with Birmingham City.
A little more forward planning may have seen him stick
around at St Andrew’s but the professional contract he was offered arrived late
and by then other clubs had started to circle. Tottenham Hotspur and Everton
were interested but Leeds, with their exciting under-23 team, and history of
pushing youngsters through the ranks and into the senior set-up, sold Miller
their vision and there was no turning back.
It is understood the total package for Miller is around £1.5
million, with Birmingham receiving £200,000 up front. Such funds may represent
good business for the selling club right now as the teenager has only played
188 minutes of first-team football following a breakthrough last season.
However, if he goes on to reach his full potential — and
those who have worked with him believe he can — it will be Leeds smiling at
what may become a bargain.
Miller is a silky-skilled winger with pace. He is confident
in taking players on, cutting inside, and creating opportunities. Senior
players at Birmingham quickly warmed to him when he was promoted up from the
Championship club’s development team last season and staff admired his attitude
and work ethic.
Still, his rapid rise went slightly under the radar in the
West Midlands.
Make no mistake, he was viewed as the most promising
development player at Birmingham by the end of last season, but in the years before,
he was not singled out as a star prospect.
Those with knowledge also suggest the previous focus on Jude
Bellingham and his younger brother, Jobe, by the now-departed chief executive
Xuandong Ren, had an impact on others in the squad. Some players did not feel
as if they had the full backing from the club and the confusion around the
future of Birmingham’s academy during last season did not help.
Nevertheless, Miller leaves without the hype predecessors
Nathan Redmond and Demarai Gray generated when they moved on under similar
circumstances in years gone by. Perhaps it is because he has not played much
men’s football yet.
Birmingham hoped he would stick around, grow as a player and
increase in value as time went on, but he rejected their eventual contract
offer and signed enhanced terms with Marcelo Bielsa’s Premier League side.
Had Birmingham acted quicker they may have kept him on
board, but while he was appreciated and nurtured by academy staff, it was those
responsible for putting the contract proposal together who left it too long.
With Ren now out the door and Birmingham restructuring, they
will, no doubt, look to learn from Miller’s departure and try to tie down some
of their more exciting youngsters to professional contracts at an earlier stage.
The winger, who played five times in the Championship last
season, is ready for the new challenge, though. Posing for pictures he said:
“The minute I heard Leeds United were interested, I knew what a massive club it
was and it was too big to turn down. My family, friends and everyone who knew
about it have just been brilliant. As soon as I spoke to Victor Orta (the
director of football) and the club, I said to my agent that this was the one.”
✍️ #LUFC are pleased to announce the signing of Amari Miller from Birmingham City
— Leeds United (@LUFC) June 28, 2021
A four-year deal also enticed Miller, who will initially
link up with Mark Jackson’s under-23 side in Premier League 2 Division One next
season. Head coach Bielsa will keep a close eye on his progress and promote him
accordingly. The hope is that, despite leaving behind the opportunity of more
Championship football next season, he can still grow quickly as a player at
Leeds.
A heavy recruitment drive at youth level is gathering pace
at Leeds, as they look to snap up some of the best young talent in the country
and build for the future. They have been pitching to youngsters in months gone
by and using last season’s under-23 title-winning campaign as evidence they are
moving in the right direction. The rise of homegrown midfielder Kalvin Phillips
into the England team at Euro 2020 is highlighted as a stand-out success story
for the academy.
Miller will now be hoping to follow the same path after
calling time on his eight years in Birmingham.