Leeds United have had another fairly busy week of announcements in the transfer market.
Charlie Cresswell’s £3.8 million move to Toulouse was the first to be confirmed on Monday afternoon, with Alex Cairns’ return to Elland Road as third choice goalkeeper the next to follow.
Diego Llorente then finally secured his permanent switch to Real Betis on Tuesday, with the big news of the week coming a couple of days ago as Joe Rothwell joined on loan from Bournemouth.
Sandwiched in between those last two deals were a raft of contract announcements for some of Leeds’ most promising young players, including Harry Christy and Luca Thomas.
Many of those youngsters played a key role in Leeds’ U18s reaching the FA Youth Cup final last season, and so it was good to see them get their moment on social media this week.
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Sean McGurk and Liverpool’s Owen Beck react to Charlie Crew news
All eyes will now be on the next Thorp Arch prodigy to make their breakthrough into the first team at Leeds following Archie Gray’s exit.
In Gray, Cresswell and Jamie Shackleton, Leeds have actually lost three academy graduates this summer, and it is unlikely any of those players who were handed new deals are quite ready yet.
However, one player who may well be ready to make the step up is Charlie Crew, having been named on the bench on a handful of occasions at the end of last season.
And Leeds displayed their belief in Crew on Friday by rounding off the week with the announcement of a new four-year-deal at Elland Road.
Crew has already been capped at senior level by Wales and next on his list will be a debut for Leeds, as he posted on Instagram after putting pen-to-paper on a new deal.
Many of his young teammates past or present for club and country have reacted to the news of his deal, including former Leeds attacking midfielder Sean McGurk, and Liverpool youngster Owen Beck, who he knows from Wales duty.
What Daniel Farke has said about Crew as he eyes Leeds debut
After naming him on the bench on a few occasions towards the end of last season, Daniel Farke was asked about the potential he sees in Crew.
Understandably, he did not want to talk too highly of him, but did confirm Leeds see him as a ‘high potential young player’. Hopefully he can make this season his own, in a similar way to what Gray did.
“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.”
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