For all the praise Leeds United’s first-team is getting, it’s the Whites’ U23 side that may be the most exciting thing at the Yorkshire club at the moment.
Mark Jackson’s team is running away with their PL2 group, and they’ve got a number of ridiculously talented young players at their disposal.
We’ve previously spoken highly of the likes of Crysencio Summerville and Ian Poveda, but as most Leeds fans probably know, it’s two strikers who are making the most headlines at U23 level.
Joe Gelhardt and Sam Greenwood have 19 goals between them after 21 games in the PL2 this season, while Greenwood has also won the Player of the Month award at that level.
These two certainly look to be incredible individual talents, but the scary thing is, they’re even better when they’re together.
Jackson has previously commented on just how good of a pairing they are.
“Sam and Joffy have got a good relationship in regards to playing together,” Jackson said.
“They’ve done that in the national team, so they tell me anyway. You can see that on the training field. They spend a lot of time together and they have a good playing relationship on the pitch.”
Strikers can often have something of a rivalry, especially at U23 level, but it seems as though Greenwood and Gelhardt are genuinely helping each other become better, and it’s paying off on the pitch.
The idea of this budding strike partnership coming through at Leeds is mouth-watering, especially when you consider that we haven’t seen anything like this for a long time at Elland Road.
Leeds have always been blessed with talented strikers, be it Ross McCormack, Chris Wood, Kemar Roofe or Patrick Bamford in recent years, but they’ve not really had a successful two-man partnership since the days of Jermaine Beckford and Luciano Becchio, and no Leeds fan needs reminding of just how good those two were together.
11 years ago, Becchio and Beckford were banging in 47 goals between them for Leeds, but due to a change in the way the game is played, Leeds, like many teams, have moved more towards a one-striker system.
While that’s been lucrative this season, we can’t help but feel Leeds may revert to a more traditional strike partnership once Gelhardt and Greenwood come of age.
Leeds haven’t had a true strike partnership for years, but if Gelhardt and Greenwood continue like this, they could become the modern-day equivalent of Beckford and Becchio.
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