It has been an important season for Charlie Crew after the teenager made his debut for Leeds United during the first half, and has gone on loan to Doncaster Rovers for the second.
The 18-year-old penned a long-term deal with Leeds United at the beginning of the season and his long-awaited senior debut finally came as a substitute during the win over Plymouth, a 3-0 win at Elland Road.
Crew had largely played for the 21’s and so, a loan move came in January. He has since played eight times for Doncaster, even if he has lost his place in the starting line-up with Rovers in the last few weeks.
Already a fully-fledged Wales international, Crew was in action for Wales U19’s on Wednesday night as he captained his side against a star-studded England U19 outfit – coming up against Newcastle’s Lewis Miley.
Charlie Crew shines for Wales but fails to prevent 2-0 defeat
Goals from Manchester United’s Ethan Wheatley and Chelsea gem Shumaira Mhueka proved too much for Crew’s Wales in Euro U19 qualifying but Wales held their own, none more so than captain Crew.
Wales fans reacted to Crew’s display for his country in the defeat to England’s U19 side and many were impressed as Crew’s stock continues to rise. Certainly, Craig Bellamy will have been watching.
One Wales fan said Crew “stood out” on the night despite coming up a Premier League-hardened Miley, Southampton’s wonderkid Tyler Dibling and Chelsea defender Josh Acheampong at Nantporth Stadium.
Another Wales fan said Crew looks like a “serious footballer” and had been left “really impressed” with his performance. Another post was that simply, Crew was “ridiculously good” against a much-better side.
Plenty of other fans gave their verdicts on Crew’s performance, another saying he had a “good first half” and that he looked “promising”. Daniel Farke will have been impressed, if he was watching Crew.
What Ethan Ampadu has said about Charlie Crew in recent weeks
As above, one fan suggested he could see Crew partnering Ethan Ampadu in the middle of the park for Wales in years to come. It might even be a partnership at Elland Road in the next few years at Leeds.
Ampadu is a big fan of Crew, and knows his potential: “It’s great to see, we know how good Charlie is as a player. We all know his potential and we want him to reach that,” Ampadu said about Crew in November.
For now, Crew will have to keep impressing out on loan and in a Wales shirt and hope that he gets a chance down the line at Elland Road. If he is to do so, he is certainly going the right way about it.
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