Rene Maric has suggested that Leeds United are extremely excited about Sonny Perkins after the forward made his debut for the Whites in their Carabao Cup defeat to Wolves on Wednesday – in comments reported by Leeds Live.
Jesse Marsch’s men are out of the competition after a late goal at Molineux. Leeds made a raft of changes for the tie with the focus on their Premier League position.
Marsch has received some criticism for the lineup. However, some of the best players on show were those who were making their debuts for Leeds.
Leeds extremely excited about Perkins
Joel Robles was excellent in goal. Meanwhile, Darko Gyabi and Mateo Joseph did not look out of place after previously shining for the under-21s.
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But arguably the best player on the pitch for Leeds was Perkins. The 18-year-old looked a class act behind the striker. Some of his touches really stood out. And it was the kind of display where he staked a claim to feature a bit more often in Marsch’s plans moving forward.
Certainly, Maric has suggested that Perkins impressed with his showing at Molineux.
“We are watching all the under-21s. Sonny very young, extremely talented,” he said, as reported by Leeds Live.
“The type of player who catches the eye with his physical posture. Working on him. Very young. Even if you don’t see the way he plays you have to remember he needs to do this level for 90 minutes. A lot of faith in his potential.”
Leeds have a number of options in the final third. But many of those are promising young players some way off being the finished articles.
So there is definitely an opportunity for Perkins to feature more often. He can play in several roles in attack. And obviously, his form for the under-21s has been unbelievable since his move from West Ham.
Wolves are struggling right now. But they still named a very strong side for the tie. So the fact that Perkins stood out says a lot about his potential.
Perhaps he has done enough to come into Marsch’s thinking for some kind of role when Leeds face Tottenham on Saturday.