“Might just be a clean break” – Pundit uncertain if 6ft Leeds talent has a future at Elland Road
BBC Sport pundit Noel Whelan feels Leeds United academy defender Matty Downing has an uncertain future at Elland Road as the defender nears becoming a free agent.
Downing was named in the club’s retained list last summer as having penned a new deal in West Yorkshire, but his terms are expected to expire on June 30 when his long-standing relationship with the Whites could reach its end.
Whelan would not be surprised to see United chiefs look to award the 20-year-old another contract before his current terms lapse, however, as Downing has been relentlessly plagued by long-term injuries since earning his promotion to the Under 23s.
The left-back was sidelined for nearly 20-months between 2017 and ’18, before breaking his leg in January 2019 and missing a further five-and-a-half agonising months in the treatment room before the metal frame could be removed.
Downing was lauded during his formative years in the academy when he won the 2015/16 Leeds United Apprentice of the Year award in recognition of his all-round engagement in the club’s youth programme.
Whelan has now suggested the club could look to give him one last chance to make it at Elland Road next season, but is not yet convinced Director of Football Victor Orta is not considering a ‘clean break’.
“This is probably the downside to the game, is getting that one long-term injury that keeps you out for a long spell,” Whelan told Football Insider. “It stops you developing, it stops you progressing, it stops you from showcasing your talent and it stops you from having any kind of leverage to a new contract, unfortunately, even at a young age.
“I think what they’ve got to take into consideration is that he’s not had much football playing time, do they risk giving him a new contract to give him that opportunity? Possibly.
“There won’t be an increase in wages or anything like that, it might just be a month-to-month [deal to] see how he goes as a fully fit player, or it might be get him out on loan and see how he does. Or it might just be a clean break for both parties, let someone else progress his talent [and] see if they can get a player out of him.”
In other Leeds United news, Director of Football Victor Orta’s plans for the summer transfer window have been thrown into disarray.