Leeds United have long taken pleasure in the quality of their academy at Thorp Arch and the talents that come through, but such is the way of the contemporary game is that elite teams may simply grab players when they see fit.
Leeds lost Archie Gray in the summer to the tune of £40million and his first six months at Tottenham – while still not playing in his native position – have just underlined how huge a talent Leeds knew they had on their books.
The fact that his younger brother is still with the club and is predicted to have an equally bright future lessened the impact.
In an astonishing £5 million deal, Leeds lost Finlay Gorman to Manchester City.
Leeds was anticipating Harry Gray’s agemate Finlay Gorman’s sustained growth last season.
Viral footage of the teenager fuelled enthusiasm amongst Leeds fans about his potential to be a first team star, but as quickly as he became a recognized Thorp Arch prodigy, he was gone to Manchester City.
The Citizens agreed to pay a British record £5 million for the 15-year-old to transfer to Man City’s academy across the Pennines.
Gorman’s leaving a damning reminder of Leeds’ place outside of the top in England, as Man City were able to entice the imaginative attacker to change academies before the Whites could lock him down to a professional deal at the age of 17.
Angus Kinnear affirms Leeds United academy goal to maintain and recruit talent
However, the club is well aware of this problem, and it was raised at the most recent meeting of the Supporters’ Advisory Board on December 9.
CEO Angus Kinnear was questioned regarding academy talent recruiting and retention in the recently released minutes and issues of that meeting:
Anders inquired about the academy’s development. Although it can be challenging to retain players at the academy level, AK claims strategies are in place to further improve recruiting and retention.
Leeds must keep turning out talented young people.
The strength of our academy is demonstrated by the fact that we have had two brothers go through the ranks, one of whom is now a rising star and a certain starter for England in the future, and the other is a player in waiting for the Leeds first team.
Leeds’ challenge is to retain them over the long haul, given the Premier League’s and the best clubs’ continued allure.
Leeds must do all in their power to keep Harry Gray here for the foreseeable future because he is currently the big one.
