Former Leeds United striker and now BBC matchday commentator, Noel Whelan, has long banged the drum about highly rated Academy graduate Ryan Edmondson.
The 18-year-old youth prospect has already shown that in our Under Age groups he can score for fun, and there has already been a big call amongst the fanbase for him to get more regular first team action under manager Marcelo Bielsa to aid his development – but as of yet, that hasn’t been the case.
Speaking to Football Insider this week in his regular column, Whelan honed in on the striker once again and repeated his call that he felt we should’ve loaned him out back in the January window so he could get some real experience under his belt.
Should Edmondson Head To L2 Next Season?
Yes, Be Good For Him
No, Involve Him In The First Team
As fans will remember, in February the talent underwent surgery and was set for a 12 week spell on the sidelines prior to the football calendar being paused the other week.
“He needs to go on loan, I’ve said this season. If he’s not going to be used in the first-team then we need to be fair to this player. He’s banging goals in for fun, he’s got all the credentials there to be a very good player. He’s something that is kind of going out of fashion now in football which is that six-foot, strong, main striker. He could be very well utilised, he’s a different type of player to what people come up against these days in the Championship.”
Whelan added.
“He’s got pace, he’s strong, he can hold the ball up, he’s got a great eye for a goal but if the club are going to not use him they’ve got to be fair with him and that means banging him out on loan, giving him that opportunity. Nobody wants to hold their career, he should have gone on loan in January because he’s been flying for a year-and-a-half now and under-23s is no good to him any more, it becomes a little bit too easy.”
There’s certainly a lot of sense in Whelan’s argument, he’s already proven himself in Carlos Corberan’s side and the only way he’ll find the next level – and come into Bielsa’s plans – is if he keeps testing himself at higher levels. Even a short spell in League 2 would do that as a starting point given his age.
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