Leeds United Under-23s ace Robbie Gotts speaks of love for playing at Elland Road

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The Whites ace was part of the U23s who beat Coventry in the Professional Development League semi-final at Elland Road.

Leeds United academy ace Robbie Gotts has commented on what the Under-23s triumph in their Professional Development League semi-final at Elland Road means for him.

The 19-year-old, who signed a new contract with the Whites to 2022 in February, opened the scoring for Carlos Corberan’s charges against Coventry City in Monday night’s crucial clash en route to a hard-fought 3-2 win.

Gotts has been with Leeds since the age of seven and, with a potential first-team berth on the horizon, he admits winning in such a crucial game – and at Elland Road no less – is “massive” on a personal level.

“I love playing at Elland Road,” Gotts is quoted by the official Leeds website as saying. “It feels great to play on that stage when we play like that, and to get a bit of a taste for it.

“On a personal level it’s massive. I feel like it will be big for me, as I’ve never done anything like it before. We got close with the U18s before getting knocked out in the semi-finals, so I’d really like to experience it, and hopefully get the win.”

Leeds’ U23s got off to a bright start against the Sky Blues when Gotts opened the scoring after just four minutes, but the visitors twice stormed back in the 90 minutes before Kun Temenuzhkov’s extra-time goal sealed their place in the final, where they will face either Birmingham or Ipswich.

Gotts is yet to make a first-team start for Leeds, but with Marcelo Bielsa’s side now consigned to the Championship playoffs, the next game away at Ipswich Town can only go on to determine whether the Whites finish third or fourth in the table, with West Bromwich Albion three points behind.

As such, Bielsa could well be tempted to rest some of his more established first-teamers and give some fringe players and youngsters a chance, which could present Gotts with a great opportunity to impress the first-team boss and pave the way for more chances to turn out at Elland Road.