Leeds United have appointed Paul Heckingbottom as their new manager, and that may please a number of the club’s youngsters.
While Paul Heckingbottom appears to have plenty of work to do before he wins over a decent section of the Leeds fanbase, there may well be a number of the young players who will be delighted with his appointment at Elland Road.
Heckingbottom’s party trick during his time at Barnsley was helping talented youngsters still perfecting their trade reach another level – and that has arguably proven to be one of the main issues that the Tykes have faced this term after several windows that have seen their better players leave Oakwell.
Given Leeds’ desire to strengthen their youth ranks over the last year, Andrea Radrizzani and Victor Orta may be hoping that Heckingbottom is the man to ensure that a lot of the diamonds in the rough at Thorp Arch realise their full potential at Elland Road.
And one player who Radrizzani and Orta may desperately be hoping hits it off with Heckingbottom is Tyler Roberts, Leeds’ £4 million deadline day signing – fee reported by the Daily Mail.
Roberts has shown a lot of promise during his brief career – most notably, during his loan spell at Walsall earlier in the campaign – but his lack of experience in the Championship means that the deal to sign him is still something of a gamble, especially given the potential fee.
Having the kind of coach in place who knows what it can take for a youngster to become something special could be particularly important for a player like Roberts, who – having become one of Leeds’ most expensive signings since their relegation from the Premier League in 2004 – will be under pressure to live up to expectation.
And while it is not guaranteed that the two will click, it certainly appears that appointing Heckingbottom significantly increases Leeds’ chances of seeing Roberts turn into the kind of striker who goes on to make a £4 million deal seem like a real coup.
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