Leeds United academy manager Adam Underwood says Marcelo Bielsa's policy towards integrating young players into the first team still remains at the club.
Victor Orta previously sketched out Bielsa's policy of having a squad of 18 senior players and leaving the other four slots available for academy players.
As a result, the likes of Pascal Struijk, Crysencio Summerville and Sam Greenwood have successfully transitioned into the first team. And Underwood insists that philosophy is still very much alive under Jesse Marsch.
“We think we are a club that can offer that development opportunity but also the opportunity to transition and go and play," Underwood told Training Ground Guru. "Those are the key ingredients for us.
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“You can never move away from operating with a meritocracy, but what you can do is plan for that opportunity in a long term and strategic sense. If you are very clear on how many players you are going to have in your first-team squad and stand by that and then do the same with players underneath, say in your 21s and 18s, you can guarantee opportunity down the line.
“If you have, for example, 18 players in your first-team squad, that might be lighter than other Premier League teams who have two for each position. What Victor [Orta] was referencing was leaving those slots open for younger players to go and take them. We try to make sure their development experience along the way supports that.”
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