da realbet： Despite Leeds United’s first team seemingly stuttering in their quest for promotion to the Premier League, their under-23 side showed no sign of slowing down as they marched to the Professional Development League North title on Monday evening.
da winzada777： A 2-0 win at Colchester United was enough to hand Carlos Corberan’s men the club’s fifth development league championship, following Burnley’s 3-2 defeat at Bristol City earlier in the day.
The club has a history of offering opportunities to young players, including current first-team regulars Jack Clarke and Kalvin Phillips. So, who could be next to make the step-up?
Ryan Edmondson
Having already tasted first-team action with two senior appearances, Edmondson’s brace at Colchester will certainly have given Head Coach Marcelo Bielsa food for thought with eight huge games of the Championship season remaining.
The 17-year-old has now netted 14 times for the under-23 side this season and his physicality could provide a different option to first-team regulars Kemar Roofe and Patrick Bamford.
Mateusz Bogusz
Poland under-20 international Bogusz missed Monday’s title-clinching win due to his national team commitments, but he has consistently demonstrated his capabilities since his January move from Ruch Chorzow.
At just 17, the midfielder has already spoken about how he trains with the Leeds first team almost every day and his range of passing, link-up play and eye for goal has caught the attention of the Leeds faithful during his short time with the Whites.
Hugo Diaz
Under-23 captain Diaz has already flirted with the first team after making his debut against Preston at the end of last season.
The former Deportivo La Coruna defender has been one of the standout players this season with some impressive recent displays, including a man-of-the-match performance against Bolton which led to calls for a step back up to the senior team.
Aapo Halme
Another to have missed the Colchester game due to an international call-up, Halme is seemingly on track to becoming a first-team regular.
The Finland under-21 defender has made five appearances for the Whites this season, including in an FA Cup tie at QPR where Halme claimed his first Leeds goal.
With Pontus Jansson struggling with injury, and uncertainties over Gaetano Berardi’s reliability, there have been several calls for Halme’s inclusion in this weekend’s crunch battle versus Millwall.