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Daniel Farke has insisted that comparing Leeds United youngster Charlie Crew with former Whites star Archie Gray is unfair.
The 18-year-old defensive midfielder joined Leeds United from Cardiff City in the summer of 2022 and Crew is highly rated at the club.
This season, Crew has been on the bench for Leeds in several games and there are high hopes he can kick on and make a real impact in the Whites first team.
However, Farke thinks that Crew being compared with Gray is extremely unfair and pointed out that it puts unnecessary pressure on the 18-year-old’s shoulder.
The Leeds boss added that Crew is a well educated and humble youngster and added that they are working hard with the midfielder on the training ground but stressed that when the time comes, it is up to him to grab the opportunity to shine.
“Charlie is a young player who came to us at 17”, Farke said at a press conference.
“There are many comparisons to a 17-year-old Archie Gray, this is not fair because the last thing young lads need is too much weight on their shoulders.
“To play as a 17 or 18-year-old guy regularly in first-team football for such a big club with such ambition to go back into the Premier League, it’s not normal that a 17, 18-year-old guy is always in the starting eleven, or has major minutes.
“This happens once in ten years so it would be unfair to expect him to do the same as Archie.
“Charlie is a great character, always open and wanting to learn.
“We try to work a lot with him to improve him but we can just bring him closer to the door – the step through the door is up to him and he has the chance to shine.”
Crew has yet to make his debut for the Leeds first-team and he will be eager to impress Farke this season to get into his plans for the upcoming games.