Gavin Whyte reflects on repeating Dallas’ achievement amid Leeds links

Follow us on Google Discover

Gavin Whyte is reportedly heading to Leeds United during the summer after a stunning season.

In comments reported by the Belfast Telegraph, Gavin Whyte has suggested that he is delighted to follow in Stuart Dallas’ footsteps by winning the Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year at the Northern Ireland Football Awards amid reports that he is destined for a summer move to Dallas’ current club, Leeds United.

Whyte has enjoyed a stunning season with Crusaders, scoring 21 goals from the wing to finish as the division’s second highest goalscorer and help his side clinch the title and a spot in the qualifying rounds of next season’s Champions League.

He may not be there for the start of their European adventure however, as the Belfast Telegraph reports that he is set to make the switch to Elland Road at the end of the season. And after becoming the first player to win both awards since Dallas in 2011, Whyte commented on the Leeds winger as well as his ambitions for the future.

“I’m very proud to win both the Player of the Year and Young Player prizes. It means a lot to me,” he said, as reported by the Belfast Telegraph.

“Stuart Dallas was the last player to do it and I see him as an inspiration because he was superb at Crusaders and did really well at Brentford before getting a big move to Leeds. I’ve always wanted to play in England or Scotland. That would be a dream for me.”

It may not be the marquee deal that Leeds fans are hoping for after such an underwhelming campaign, but the signs suggest that Whyte could be a potential star of the future and make the grade with the Whites if his form this year is a sign of things to come.

And with Dallas perhaps struggling to show his best form over the last year or so – though he has struggled for opportunities in his preferred role at times – perhaps it may not be out of the question for the reportedly Leeds-bound youngster to end up moving ahead of his idol in the pecking order at some stage.