Leeds United centre-back deployed as striker for the under-21’s and hailed by manager

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Leeds United’s Under-21 side picked up a fourth consecutive 1-1 draw against Charlton Athletic over the weekend and manager Scott Gardner has hailed the versatility of one of his defenders.

Coming into the game, Leeds had picked three 1-1 draws in a row in Premier League 2 in games against Stoke, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace. Next up was a Premier League Cup game against Charlton.

Remarkably, another 1-1 draw for Gardner’s men. Luca Thomas got his third goal of the season having only featured in three U21 games this season, latching on to a Reece Chadwick-Chaplin assist for Leeds.

Leeds’ second string are currently lacking in forward options with Harry Gray injured, leaving Thomas as the main man up top. But Gardner chose to take Thomas off on 75 minutes, and brought on Kris Moore.

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Scott Gardner says Kris Moore will ‘run through a brick wall’

Naturally a centre-back and certainly known to Daniel Farke having played against Manchester United in Oslo during Farke’s first summer, Moore was used by Gardner as a makeshift striker last Friday.

U21 manager Gardner spoke to LUTV after the U21’s latest outing, and hailed Moore for playing up top away from his normal position of centre-back. He was asked about playing Moore in the final third.

“We’ve got a group of players that will do anything we ask and will run through a brick wall for us. If you want to play for Leeds, you’ve got to be able to play in different positions,” Gardner said about Moore.

“We’re a little bit short in positions in the top line, Kris is really willing. Comes on and did really well in a position that he’s not really used to,” Gardner added, during a post-match interview on LUTV.

It is a crucial season for Moore at Leeds with contract ending

Moore has become a renowned name among Leeds fans for his regularity in the U21 side. Already, he has clocked up a huge 70 appearances for the second string, and has been on the first-team’s bench.

Five occasions under Marcelo Bielsa, twice under Jesse Marsch. In January, Moore jetted out to Dubai to go on trial with Scottish side Hibernian but a move did not materialise for the young Leeds defender.

Now, Moore is set to see his contract at Elland Road expire next summer and the chances are he may struggle to win a new deal given he is 20. But there is certainly a lack of Leeds depth at centre-back.