It’s no secret that Leeds United have produced some fine players down the years, but that remains the case.
The likes of Kalvin Phillips, Lewis Cook and Ronaldo Vieira have all graduated from the club’s Thorp Arch academy in recent years.
And today, it was announced that the Premier League had awarded Leeds’ academy a Category One status.
This is the first time in United’s history that they’ve reached such a footing when it comes to nurturing young talent.
And former Leeds attacker Simon Johnson, who also came through the club’s academy, has said on Twitter that Thorp Arch is the place to be for any young footballer, claiming that the ‘stats are outrageous’ with regards to the quality it produces.
Aaron Lennon, James Milner, Paul Robinson, Scott Carson, Jonathan Woodgate, Danny Rose and Fabian Delph are some of the high-profile players to develop at Leeds.
Milner is potentially the biggest success story, in light of the fact that the Liverpool star has just won his third Premier League title, having also lifted the Champions League with the Reds last summer.
Of the modern players, Phillips is arguably the brightest talent to come through lately and it’ll be fascinating to see how he fares against England’s elite next season, should Marcelo Bielsa’s side win promotion.
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