Mark Jackson’s Under-23s side have lifted the Premier League 2 Division Two title this season, stringing together a run of stellar displays while being supplemented by first team stars regularly.
Youth starlets in the likes of Joe Gelhardt and Sam Greenwood have been part of match day squads, the latter making his debut in the FA Cup, while a host of their team-mates are also expected to one day break through to the first team.
Former Leeds star Matteo stressed that Biesla’s system runs through all levels at Elland Road, with the Under-23s players well versed in the roles and positions on the pitch that the Argentine needs.
Matteo feels the upcoming pre-season could provide an opportunity for the Under-23s starlets to catch Bielsa’s eye and possibly earn a place in the senior squad.
“Bielsa’s system runs throughout the club and, for the players who have had a good season with the 23s, they know the roles and the positions and they’ll be looking at the upcoming pre-season with high hopes”, Matteo wrote in his Yorkshire Evening Post column.
“There’s always someone you maybe didn’t expect who comes through the pack and becomes a bit of a star, someone who knows they have to improve so work at it really hard.
“They’re the players who sometimes get opportunities a little quicker than the ones everyone expects, who maybe already have the talent and don’t have to work quite so methodically at it.
“I also think, with the Euros this summer, there might be an opportunity for the youngsters to get a bit more game time in pre-season and maybe show Bielsa they should be part of his first-team plans.”
Leeds invested heavily in their Under-23s squad last summer, roping in no less than six young prospects, and it remains to be seen whether youth recruitment will be a key area again when the transfer window swings open in the summer.
