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A trend’s developing at Elland Road, and it will help not only now, but in the future – Opinion

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It might not be the biggest indicator.

But it’s still a pretty convincing sign that changes are coming to Elland Road, and I personally think that it’s very much a good thing.

Last night, Pascal Struijk made his debut for Leeds United as he came on in injury time to replace Helder Costa, this follows on from young Oliver Casey also making his debut during the game on Saturday against Huddersfield. So in the space of two games, we’ve seen two young players being introduced into the first-team picture, even if they are just brief cameos rather than fully-fledged 90-minute games.

Now I have spoken a lot in the past about Leeds United and the academy, and how I feel that the club might be better off bringing in a few of them into the fold, as an alternative to going out and spending in the upcoming January transfer window, and it looks as if Bielsa might be following my advice.

By gradually introducing these players, they are getting key experience and development opportunities that will not only benefit the club now, by meaning they don’t have to go out and spend big in January, and also in the long term by earning the experience that will help them later on in their career, be it with Leeds or with another club.

My only wish is that we see this trend continue.

With an eleven-point gap between Leeds and the team in third place, it’s not as if the club are in a desperate need to go out and spend to ‘get over the line’ as it were. And whilst they shouldn’t necessarily be taking their foot off the gas in trying to get promoted, they should be taking a longer-term approach to things rather than just focusing on the here and now.

The more that players are not only given their debuts, but also trusted with getting significant game time, the better Leeds United will be, giving senior players the chance to get a rest, and then developing themselves.

Would U23 players be a good way to address shortfalls in January?

Yes

No

At the end of the day, everybody wins.

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