The 20-year-old enjoyed the best debut possible, scoring the Whites’ winner against Luton Town in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night.
Garry Monk has voiced his delight at Tyler Denton’s goalscoring debut for Leeds United and has insisted to the Yorkshire Evening Post that he and the club will not have any trouble with keeping the youngster grounded after his overnight success.
Denton was handed his first senior start for the club by Monk for the EFL Cup second-round clash with Luton Town on Tuesday and grabbed his opportunity with both hands, scoring the fist-half winner in a 1-0 victory.
The left-back is the latest in a long line of young talent to emerge at Elland Road, with Monk’s squad also boasting the likes of Charlie Taylor, Alex Mowatt, and Kalvin Phillips all having progressed from the youth academy to the first team.
Denton, who has been at Leeds since the age of seven, has become something of an overnight sensation in Yorkshire as a result of his debut success, something which can prove a double-edged sword for many young players.
However, Monk is confident that the meteoric rise to prominence will not prove too much to handle for Denton, and stressed that though his squad is a young one, every player is level-headed and remains grounded.
The Whites boss said, via the Yorkshire Evening Post: “We were very pleased for him, everyone was because he has worked very hard through pre-season as well. He got his opportunity and he deserved that opportunity and he took it.
“It’s like every player when they are starting out in their careers and making their way – you have to stay grounded and you have to stay level headed and do the work. But Tyler is that type of lad so we have no worries with that. It’s one game and he has a long, long, long way to go but I am sure that he is the type of lad that will relish the challenge.
“A lot of young players get too much too soon when they haven’t truly earned it. That’s a problem, it’s a big problem for football. But I don’t think it’s a problem here. It’s a young group we have here but they seem very grounded. You have to manage them at all times but they’re a level-headed group.”
Denton will be hoping that further first-team opportunities come his way this season after making such a big impact on his debut.
He could even be thrust into regular action if first-choice left-back Taylor is ultimately sold – the 22-year-old has been attracting high-profile Premier League interest.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
