Partly owing to their injury troubles, the Whites’ first team have had to rely on youth for many parts of the season with Joe Gelhardt in particular announcing himself on the big stage with some eye-catching performances.
The Whites’ Under-23s earned promotion to the top flight of Premier League 2 last season and were bolstered by academy signings such as Kristoffer Klaesson and Leo Hjelde.
Kinnear emphasised that with promotion to the Premier League, the Whites committed to bringing in players to improve the team ahead of the 2020/21 season.
Along with improvement to the first team, the Whites are also concentrated on developing members of the academy, with Kinnear believing that the current youth prospects could turn into world-class players and help Whites for a long while.
“Following promotion to the Premier League and Marcelo Bielsa committed to his third season in charge, Leeds United invested heavily in the summer transfer window bringing Spanish internationals Rodrigo Moreno and Diego Llorente to Elland Road, as well as Brazilian Raphinha and Robin Koch who has represented Germany”, Kinnear said in the club’s latest accounts.
“In total, 10 players made appearances at full international level and 17 players from the Academy were called up to represent their national teams at various age groups illustrating both how the first-team squad has evolved to be compromised of truly world-class talent whilst the academy promises a pipeline of world class potential for many years to come.”
The Whites have performed well in their first season in the Premier League 2 top flight, while academy players including Klaesson and Lewis Bate have received call-ups to represent their country at youth level at various points in the season.
