Daniel Farke says Leeds have a player coming through the ranks that has so much potential

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Leeds United have one of the youngest squads across the whole of the Championship.

Of the players used so far this season, only Sunderland have a younger average age with Leeds’ currently sat at 24.1 alongside Blackburn Rovers, as per Transfermarkt.

Crysencio Summerville, Georginio Rutter, Archie Gray and Ethan Ampadu are among the players aged 23 or under who have played virtually every game and have been key to Leeds’ success.

There’s only really Glen Kamara, Junior Firpo, Sam Byram and Patrick Bamford who you would consider as senior and experienced professionals that have actually been regulars under Daniel Farke.

But even with a plethora of young players in the squad already, Leeds have always been the type of club to promote from their academy when possible, and it seems there is another on the conveyor belt.

Farke says Leeds have a player coming through the ranks that has so much potential

Leeds’ squad has been stretched to its very limit over the past couple of weeks, as a number of players reported back from international duty recently with injuries.

Ilia Gruev, Willy Gnonto and Connor Roberts all picked up issues while away with their respective countries that have seen them miss both of the last two matches.

But their absences has opened up the window of opportunity for one youngster to get his first taste of senior football – Charlie Crew.

Crew was on the bench against both Watford and Hull City with Farke having hailed his performances in training as the reason for his inclusion in the squad.

And speaking in his pre-Coventry City press conference earlier today, Farke has shared exactly what they see in the 17-year-old, though did warn he will have to be patient.

He said: “Obviously Charlie Crew plays in a similar role, perhaps a bit more offensive but due to his age he can’t fulfil the role Ilia has done. You can’t dictate the rhythm of a side wanting promotion on the back of a few first-team training sessions but he’s a talent full of potential.

“We try to improve him. We see him as a high potential young player, there’s a long way to go, you can’t take it for granted a 17 year old plays day in day out like Archie. It would be unfair to put the same weight of expectations on Charlie Crew’s shoulders.”

Crew looks set to be the next off Leeds’ production line

Crew is someone people at Leeds have been speaking about for a while as someone who could make his breakthrough, and last night was his first significant step towards doing so.

Ethan Ampadu has spoken in the past about his potential, having already been invited to train with Wales’ senior squad all the way back in September.

The 17-year-old is now the same age fellow youngster Gray was when he made his debut at the beginning of the season, though Farke has already acknowledged it will be difficult to chuck him in now at this stage.

That said, the more he keeps impressing in training, the more chance he has of getting on the pitch. Just like Gray, perhaps pre-season could be when he really gets his opportunity to show what he can do.