Photo: Leeds quartet replicate 2015 Mowatt image in Barnsley win

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Leeds United picked up a win in their latest Championship game, with their academy starlets shining at Elland Road.

One of the images that arguably best summed up the frustration surrounding Leeds United in the years before Andrea Radrizzani’s arrival at Elland Road was the one that depicted Alex Mowatt celebrating a goal along with Lewis Cook, Charlie Taylor and Sam Byram in 2015.

All four men were products of Leeds’ academy and became integral first-team players. And while Mowatt has perhaps surprised many by dropping down into League One after not quite kicking on, the other three are all now plying their trade in the Premier League, with Cook now an England international.

The image tends to sum up what was wrong about Leeds during those years between their return to the Championship and Radrizzani’s arrival as the Whites clearly had the foundations to put a squad together that was capable of challenging for promotion back to the Premier League, but never provided the different managers with the resources to capitalise and secure anything better than a bottom-half finish.

None of that quartet may remain at Elland Road, but one image from Leeds’ win over Barnsley at the weekend suggests that the club have a second chance to put some similar foundations in place.

The game saw Leeds run out 2-1 winners. It was not the prettiest performance from Paul Heckingbottom’s side, but it was an important victory, and it was arguably also the day that Tom Pearce confirmed that he is ready for the demands of being a first-choice option in the first-team.

Pearce has spent much of the season in the under-23 ranks, but has taken his chance with both hands since being given an opportunity and vindicated Heckingbottom’s faith in him by scoring a wonderful goal from outside the box against Barnsley.

The first three players to catch up with Pearce as he went off to celebrate were Kalvin Phillips, Ronaldo Vieira and Paudie O’Connor, which led to a photo that was very reminiscent of the one of Mowatt, Cook, Byram and Taylor from three years ago.

It would be a major leap to suggest that the current crop could be as good as that quartet has become, but the image does hint that Leeds have a second chance to capitalise on the quality coming through the ranks. It is now up to Radrizzani, Victor Orta and Heckingbottom to make sure that the opportunity is not thrown away like it was under previous regimes.