Joe Littlewood made his Under-23 debut for Leeds United this season but now it appears the talented defender is on trial at Sunderland. The centre-back played 90 minutes for Sunderland’s second string, on Monday night.
Littlewood, 18, has been a regular part of the club’s Under-18 side up until this point. He has played 25 times for the youth team, 13 of which has come this season – and he even featured in the Under-23 team for Mark Jackson.
But at 18, Littlewood might have hoped to have made more progression into the reserve team. TransferMarkt report that his contract at Leeds is due to expire at the end of the season, and it appears Littlewood is planning.
Indeed, he turned out for Sunderland last night, on the left side of a back three as the Black Cats’ 23’s lost 3-1 at home to Aston Villa in the second tier of Premier League 2. It sees Sunderland remain in 13th, of 14 clubs.
Smallwood at Sunderland: Right decision for Leeds talent?
There are signs of a player in Smallwood, but the queue ahead of him into the second string – and then the first team – is busy. Leeds have Liam Cooper, Pascal Struijk, Robin Koch and Diego Llorente in the first team.
Backing them up, is the excellent Charlie Cresswell and Leo Hjelde, both of whom have featured in the first team at points this season. In the second string, now under Andrew Taylor, Kris Moore has been excellent.
So, while it would not be nice to lose a talented player at this age in Littlewood, a move to Sunderland best serves his career.
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