Here are your Leeds United evening headlines on Friday, March 17.
Archie Gray makes first-team vow
Leeds United youngster Archie Gray has revealed that breaking into the first-team is his "main aim" after he signed his first professional contract with the club.
Gray put pen to paper on a two-and-a-half-year deal that will see him remain at Elland Road until at least the summer of 2025. And the 17-year-old could not hide his excitement as he spoke both about his pride at playing for the club and his aims for the future.
"It feels amazing," Gray told club media after signing his new deal. "Obviously, it's a boyhood dream pay for the club that you support and to get this deal done it's just just amazing and a dream come true. Playing with the players that I looked up to, watched on the TV for so many years, getting to play with all those players and train with them every day is just - I can't explain it.
"Obviously it's helpful when your dad, grandad great-uncle played, they know what they're doing. So they give you a bit of advice in every little bit and help you that every little bit more and just helps on the pitch, helps off the pitch and in training.
"When I went to Australia and there was fans singing my name and even at away games, home games. It's just amazing to get appreciated and to have such a great family background feels amazing, I feel very appreciated by all the fans which is amazing.
"Hopefully I'll get a few more games and then the international break and then hopefully just carry on from there. My aim is to break into the first team. That's my main aim, that's the most near aim I can think of, establishing myself as a first team player first and foremost.
"Working on every little bit of my game to improve physically developing more and then just getting that experience is the main thing I think, you get every little bit of advice you take it and use it in the games and it helps you so much."
Rodrigo can repeat Wolves heroics to help Leeds United 'objective'
Rodrigo will be looking to find the back of the net once again when Leeds United travel to Molineux to take on Wolves after he scored in the Whites opening game of the Premier League season back in August.
A 2-1 win against Wolves got Leeds off to the perfect start as they picked up all three points in their curtain-raiser at Elland Road. After Daniel Podence opened the scoring for the visitors after just six minutes had been played, the West Yorkshire side showed their resilience as they battled back through Rodrigo and an own-goal from Rayan Ait-Nouri.
That was to be the first of Rodrigo's 12 goals for Leeds across all competitions this term before an ankle injury suffered during a 3-1 win over Accrington Stanley back in January would rule him out for nearly two months.
Simon Grayson issues verdict on Whites' Premier League relegation fight
Former Leeds United manager Simon Grayson has said that his old side's Premier League survival bid will come down "to the last few games of the season".
Javi Gracia's side sit 19th in the table. but are just four points behind Crystal Palace in 12th place. Five points separate the bottom nine teams and with just 12 games left to play and it is far too early to tell which clubs are likely to stay up or go down come May.
And Grayson believes that it will remain this way for some time as he sees the Whites in a long-term battle to secure their Premier League status for the 2023/24 season.
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