When Charlie Crew caught the eye at Leeds United during last summer’s pre-season preparations, it did not take long for comparisons with Archie Gray to develop.
Another extremely talented teenage midfielder rising through the ranks. Another one capable of dictating the tempo of a game despite his tender age.
One perhaps able to step in and step up following Archie Gray’s £30 million departure to Tottenham Hotspur.
But just because Daniel Farke had no issues at all with throwing Gray in at the deep end at the start of last season, that did not mean he was destined to repeat the same steps with Charlie Crew.
As he would go on to explain, Farke felt it was ‘unfair’ to expect Crew to emulate Gray right from the get-go. The closest the former would come to securing first-team football at Elland Road in the opening months of 2024/25 was a brief cameo in the 3-0 hammering of Plymouth Argyle in November.
And when Doncaster Rovers came calling two months later – offering Crew the chance to develop his understanding of the senior game on a less pressured stage – this was an opportunity Leeds were keen to take up.
Leeds United starlet Charlie Crew explains benefits of Doncaster Rovers spell
As Crew himself said, Leeds United wanted the Wales international to prove himself capable of making the step up from the sterilised world of academy football to the thistles and thickets of the men’s game.
It’s fair to say he’s done just that.
Crew has started six of a possible seven league matches since joining Doncaster. And with Grant McCann’s side sitting third in the table, this stylish, technically-gifted 18-year-old should return to Thorp Arch over the summer having experienced what it’s like to play in the white-hot heat of a promotion battle.
“I’ve enjoyed every moment of it, to be fair,” Crew smiles when asked to sum up his time at Doncaster. “Obviously, we started really well with four wins on the bounce, which was a nice start. I didn’t expect it to be like that, and it made me settle into the group.
“Even now, still enjoying it, still trying to improve every day.
“This is my first experience of men’s football, being around a squad. Three points every game meaning something, it’s a feeling I haven’t had before but it’s one that will definitely help me improve in the future.”
Elland Road prospect has surprised even himself in League Two
By Crew’s own admission, he was left ‘shocked’ on his Rovers debut despite an impressive 1-0 away win at Gillingham. But after being thrown in at the deep end by McCann, the Cardiff-born playmaker seems ready to throw away his armbands.
“I felt like I adapted pretty quickly the next game. I really started to improve,” Crew adds, surprising even himself with the seed of his progress.
“I feel like, as a player, I can adapt quickly to different tactics, things like this. Me coming down and playing League Two football, I feel like I’ve done that. I always felt like I could do it pretty quickly but maybe not after one game.
“Men’s football is a lot more physical than what I was doing at Leeds. That’s probably one of the biggest things, the way opposition play and the styles they play. A lot different to academy football so it’s just the opposition and the physicality side.
“[The physical side of the game is] something I need to improve upon a lot more as well. So hopefully I can do that in the last few months of the season.”
McCann first clapped eyes on Crew during the FA Youth Cup back in 2024. From the very first minute, the Doncaster boss knew Leeds United had an ‘exceptional young talent’ on their hands, so no wonder he jumped at the opportunity when Crew’s parent club opened themselves up to a short-term deal.
Grant McCann has been ‘really impressed’ by Charlie Crew’s ability to control the play with composure which belies his relative inexperience, while playing those probing passes into the final third.
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