Leeds United appear to have a new star on their hands after on-loan goalkeeper Rory Mahady was praised following his senior debut.
The Leeds United academy has a proud tradition of producing top-class players, with the latest rising star, Harry Gray, pushing for a place in the first-team squad before his 17th birthday.
He will be reunited with his brother, Archie Gray, when the former Leeds man returns to face the club with Tottenham in the Premier League.
Goalkeeper Rory Mahady is a regular member of the Leeds Under-21s squad as he looks to force his way into the thoughts of Daniel Farke.
Now, he has taken one step closer to the first team after making his senior debut on an emergency loan to Scunthorpe.
- READ MORE: Premier League pundit admits Daniel Farke has won him over after fine start with Leeds United
On-loan Leeds United goalkeeper praised after debut
Mahady was drafted in to help Scunthorpe on a one-match youth loan deal and was thrown straight into the side for their game against York.
He wasted no time in making an impression, impressing Scunthorpe manager Andy Butler with his distribution in a 3-1 away win.
Speaking after the game, Butler was full of praise for Mahady, revealing that he received a standing ovation from his teammates after the game.
“It’s a great debut, by the way, his distribution was class,” Butler said, “When Rory came into the changing room, they gave him a standing ovation, which is brilliant for him.
“I mean, what an experience he’s got at his young age already. He’s got to come here. He’s made some great saves, by the way. He’s won, I think, low down, where he scooped it away.”
He added, “It just shows you the pedigree he’s got at Leeds. Thank you, Leeds, so much for facilitating it, because without them, we’d have no goalkeeper,” before concluding, “It’s great to be able to use a goalkeeper of that quality.”
National League Cup experience proves essential for Rory Mahady
Mahady played in goal in the National League Cup encounter between Leeds and Scunthorpe, in which Harry Gray scored a brilliant hat-trick in a 3-1 win.
Speaking after the game, Mahady explained that having faced Scunthorpe so recently helped him make the seamless transition into their side as he shone in his competitive debut.
Mahady said: “Playing [Scunthorpe] a few weeks ago helped massively, because obviously we’ve done a lot of analysis on you. So I had an idea of what was going on already, and then just to get a training session under my belt, and then obviously the game tonight.”
He added, “That trophy is really good for experience, obviously. Managed to win it last year, and then we obviously didn’t get off to the best start this year in the Cup, but I think we turned things around, and I thought it was a really good game.”
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