Young Leeds United goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell says both Paudie O’Connor and Tom Pearce have shown that players from the academy are capable of making the step up to the first team.
The trio starred for Leeds on Friday night despite going down to a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa.
Peacock-Farrell, who has improved with every game since being given his first-team opportunity last month, was once again named Man of the Match.
O’Connor made his third start in a week since being given his first-team opportunity last weekend and once again, he was impressive.
Pearce, who was given his debut against Sheffield Wednesday last month, came in to make his second appearance in the first team and he impressed as he was given the unenviable task of marking former Leeds winger Robert Snodgrass.
Both 21-year-old Peacock-Farrell and 20-year-old Pearce have come through the successful Leeds academy whilst 20-year-old O’Connor joined from League of Ireland side Limerick in March 2017 and Peacock-Farrell says it shows that the youngsters in the academy can make the step up to first-team football.
“I think they have both shown how capable they are,” Peacock-Farrell told LUTV.
“As a club, we have always have a good strength in depth of academy players that can step up and show they are capable of doing it at this level, which is a credit to them and the club.”
Leeds will now want to sort out new deals with Pearce and O’Connor with Peacock-Farrell signing a new deal earlier this season until the summer of 2020.
Pearce is out of contract this summer whilst O’Connor’s current deal runs until the summer of 2019.