Leeds United will be able to continue naming nine players on the bench next season following a Football League rule change. The Whites were able to name a 20-man matchday squad in the Premier League last season and changes have been made in the Championship to bring it in line with the top flight format.
As such, those Championship clubs who were restricted to seven men on the bench last season, will now be able to give themselves another two in-play options. Of course, managers will be still be limited to just five changes, but the increased number of spots on the bench could lead to more opportunities for a number of youngsters across the competition.
Leeds took advantage of the rule to name the likes of Mateo Joseph, Darko Gyabi, Archie Gray, Jeremiah Mullen and Diogo Monteiro on the bench last season, giving them vital experience of being around the first-team picture on a match day. Of the above names Joseph and Gyabi managed to secure themselves game time in the Premier League and they could play larger roles for the Whites this time around in the Championship.
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There’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding Leeds’ squad at present, with comings and goings up in the air while the club’s takeover is given approval by the EFL. But, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Leeds leaning on the young talent they have developed and nurtured over the last few years this season, with holes to be filled throughout the squad.
Such a rule change appears to be play into the hands of someone like Joseph, for example, who will be pushing to catch the eye of Leeds’ head coach this summer. He faces plenty of competition for minutes with Patrick Bamford, Joe Gelhardt and Georginio Rutter currently ahead of him in the pecking order, but that extended bench might give him a regular look in when it comes to the matchday squad and opportunities will crop up for him to be used.
Gyabi is in the same boat as he looks to graduate from Leeds’ youth ranks and establish himself within the first team. The midfielder proved far too strong for most Premier League 2 Division 2 opposition and he’ll see the drop down to the Championship as the ideal opportunity for him to kick on.
As it stands Leeds are short of midfield options so he’ll know he has a real opportunity to stake a claim over the first couple of weeks of pre-season and potentially nail down a spot in the squad. Sonny Perkins is another who featured on the bench last season and while there have been reports of a potential loan deal, if he is to stick around at Elland Road he’ll undoubtedly have his eyes on one of those places.
Gray was named in matchday squads by Jesse Marsch, Javi Gracia and Sam Allardyce last season, underlining the talent he possesses and while he is still only 17, he’ll be working towards a first-team debut this season. Monteiro is someone the club are hugely excited about having secured his services from Servette in January.
The Portuguese defender has room to grow and, depending on how the club’s defensive picture unfolds over the season, he could find himself progressing to within touching distance of the first-team fold. Mullen, his defensive partner last season for the U21s, is in a similar situation, too.
Scratch a little deeper and, depending on the club’s transfer situation there could be more opportunities to grab for Leeds’ youngsters. Kris Moore, James Debayo, Charlie Allen, Amari Miller and Joe Snowdon all got the opportunity to warm the bench when changes were made to face Wolves in the Carabao Cup, for example, which was undoubtedly an invaluable experience for them.
It’s hard to know who will progress along the Leeds United conveyor belt this season and at what pace, but chances for those most impressive youngsters will come and a further two available spots on Championship benches opens the door to that.
