Leeds United have one of the youngest squads in the Championship and so there won’t be many planning for life after their playing days are over.
For the first time since 1952, Leeds had 10 consecutive starting XIs at the beginning of a new season which didn’t include a single player over the age of 30.
That changed with Sam Byram’s first start of the campaign at Bristol City on Saturday, but it is an incredible stat that shows the youth currently in Leeds’ squad.
Josuha Guilavogui’s arrival on a free transfer has added some much needed experience to Daniel Farke‘s side, with the 34-year-old now the oldest player at the club.
However, arguably Leeds’ three most important players in Ethan Ampadu, Pascal Struijk and Wilfried Gnonto are all in their early to mid 20s.
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Struijk ranks Leeds teammates most likely to become a manager
Several members of Marcelo Bielsa’s promotion winning squad at Leeds have since spoken of how he changed their perspective on football.
One example is Adam Forshaw, who has suggested a couple of times he could look to get into management after working with Bielsa.
The same cannot be said for Farke’s squad, though, and that is reflected in Leeds’ latest TikTok video done by Struijk.
Struijk was asked to blind rank his current Leeds teammates in order of the most likely to become a manager once their playing days are over, meaning he is unaware of who comes next.
Perhaps fairly unsurprisingly, Junior Firpo ended up in top spot. Despite being only 28 himself, he is one of the oldest players at the club.
At the other end of the scale, Struijk’s laugh when the names of Largie Ramazani and Gnonto popped up told its own story. It’s never going to happen.
Struijk ranked himself middle of the road, with Jayden Bogle landing in second place, a selection he wasn’t best pleased with.
Full ranking: “Firpo, Bogle, Ampadu, Rodon, Struijk, Meslier, James, Gnonto, Aaronson, Ramazani.”
Had the likes of Patrick Bamford, Guilavogui, Karl Darlow and Byram popped up, then maybe that list would’ve looked a little different.
Struijk chooses interesting Illan Meslier career path
One of the names to crop up on the list was his best friend at Leeds Illan Meslier, and he seemed pretty confident management wouldn’t be his thing.
However, Struijk did suggest an interesting career Meslier could look to go down after his playing days, and that is becoming an agent.
Several former players have made that transition in years gone by, including former Leeds players Ian Harte and Will Buckley.
Perhaps Meslier has some unseen negotiation skills that only Struijk is aware of at the moment.
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