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George Bennett & Matthew Hobkinson

Where are they now? Leeds United's last XI to play in FA Cup fifth round

Leeds United take on Fulham in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Tuesday night, the first time in seven years that the Whites have reached this stage of the competition.

Javi Gracia is no stranger to an FA Cup run, as he looks to reach the quarter-final stages of the tournament with victory for Leeds over Fulham at Craven Cottage. The former Watford boss led the Hornets all the way to the final back in 2019 and although avoiding Premier League relegation is his main priority, the Spaniard has already made it perfectly clear how important he views the famous the competition.

Saturday, March 20th 2016 was the last time the Whites played in the fifth round of the FA Cup. A 1-0 defeat to Gracia's former side Watford at Vicarage Road would see Steve Evans' team bow out just shy of the quarter-finals.

ALSO READ: Every word Javi Gracia said on Leeds United injuries, Firpo, Elland Road, changes and next steps

But who played that day and where are they now? LeedsLive have delved into the past and brought you up to speed on those who featured in the Whites' last fifth round outing all those years ago.

Marco Silvestri

Silvestri arrived at Elland Road from Chievo in 2014 and made 98 appearances during his three seasons in England. He fell down the pecking order behind veteran goalkeeper Robert Green in his third and final season in West Yorkshire and returned to his native Italy with Hellas Verona in the summer of 2017.

His first season at Hellas Verona ended in relegation as Silvestri amassed just five appearances across all competition. However, Silvestri became a regular between the sticks in the second-tier, and helped Hellas Verona secure an immediate return to the Italian top-flight via the Serie B play-offs.

After achieving two top half finishes in Serie A at Hellas Verona, Silvestri joined Udinese ahead of the 2021-22 season. The Italian has remained a constant for them during his first 18 months at Udinese, and is contracted to the club until June 2025.

Scott Wootton

Wootton had represented both Liverpool and Manchester United at youth level, and made four appearances for the latter at senior level.

However, he was sold to Leeds in 2013 and played 74 times during his three seasons at Elland Road. Wootton went onto star for MK Dons, Plymouth Argyle, Wigan Athletic, and Morecambe in League One, before leaving for Australia to play for his current club Wellington Phoenix.

Giuseppe Bellusci

Giueseppe Bellusci joined Leeds from Serie A side Catania in 2014 during Massimo Cellino's controversial spell as club owner.

The Italian defender had a fractious relationship with the Leeds supporters, while his spell at Elland Road was characterised by a number of individual errors.

He returned to Italy for a season on loan at Empoli, and publicly fell out with supporters during pre-season in the summer of 2017.

That ultimately spelt the end of his time at Leeds, and Bellusci went onto spend two seasons in Serie B at Palmero, before joining third-tier Monza following Palmero's bankruptcy.

He won promotion to Serie B with Monza but fell down the pecking order during his final season. He was loaned to Ascoli in January 2022 and joined them on a permanent basis at the start of the current campaign.

Sol Bamba

Sol Bamba spent two years at Leeds and was made captain by Uwe Rosler during his second campaign at Elland Road. However, he was deemed surplus to requirements by Garry Monk and joined fellow Championship rivals Cardiff City.

The Ivorian played every game for the Bluebirds as they achieved promotion to the Premier League under Neil Warnock in 2018.

His Premier League adventure would last just one season, and Bamba made just 12 appearances for Cardiff over the following two campaigns.

He was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2021 and began undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Four months later in May 2021, he announced that he was cancer-free.

Bamba returned to football at Middlesbrough and played 29 games for them across all competitions last term. He was released by Boro in the summer of 2022 and is yet to find a new club.

Charlie Taylor

Taylor was a product of the Leeds academy and made his breakthrough into the first team in 2014 after loan spells at Bradford City, York City, Inverness and Fleetwood Town respectively.

He made 104 appearances for the Whites in total and was named the club's Player of the Year in 2015-16. A move to the Premier League with Burnley followed in 2017, and Taylor has gone onto play 182 times for the Clarets.

The left-back has remained a constant in the side since Vincent Kompany's appointment at the start of the current campaign. He has starred 27 league games for the Championship leaders, who boast a 12-point lead at the summit.

Liam Bridcutt

Bridcutt came through Chelsea's youth system and joined ex-Blues midfielder Gus Poyet at Brighton & Hove Albion in 2014.

The former Scotland international was a regular figure in his two-and-a-half year spell at the Amex, and earned himself a move to the Premier League in the winter of 2014.

He made 20 top-flight appearances for Sunderland but returned to the Championship for a loan spell at Leeds in 2015-16.

Bridcutt impressed during his loan and joined the Whites permanently at the start of the following season. He replaced Bamba as captain but saw his spell at Elland Road hampered by injuries.

He left for Nottingham Forest in 2017 and has gone onto play for Bolton Wanderers and Lincoln City respectively in League One.

The midfielder left Lincoln back in the summer for Blackpool but has made just four appearances for his new club due to injury.

Souleymane Doukara

Doukara scored 18 goals in 93 appearances in three seasons for Leeds. He scored a memorable volley against Nottingham Forest, which was voted the club's Goal of the Season in 2016-17.

He left at the end of that season and has spent the last six years in Turkey bar a brief spell in Greece at Levadikos. He now plays for Turkish second-tier side Genclerbirligi, who he joined in January.

The 31-year-old was called up on Mauritania and has made four caps for the African nation since his debut in 2021.

Toumani Diagouraga

Diagouraga finally settled at Brentford after a nomadic career in League One and League Two at the likes of Hereford United, Swindon Town and Rotherham United.

He scored six goals in 210 league appearances during almost six years with the Bees, and earned promotion to the Championship with them in 2015.

The midfielder scored three goals during just over 18 months at Elland Road. Since leaving in 2017, Diagouraga has had spells at Plymouth Argyle, Fleetwood Town, Swindon Town and Morecambe respectively.

He now plays for Rochdale, who sit bottom of League Two and six points adrift of safety.

Lewis Cook

Cook broke through Leeds' academy and was named Leeds United Young Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons in 2014-15 and 2015-16 respectively.

He was also named Football League Young Player of the Year in 2015-16. Cook was part of the England youth teams that won the UEFA European Under-17 Championship and Under-20 World Cup.

The 24-year-old left Leeds for Bournemouth in 2016 and made his solitary cap for England in 2018. He has made 346 appearances during his seven years with the Cherries.

Stuart Dallas

Stuart Dallas joined Leeds from Brentford in 2015 and has amassed 266 appearances for the Whites - scoring 28 goals in the process.

The Northern Ireland international helped guide Leeds to the Championship title in 2020, and was named the club's Player of the Year in 2020-21.

However, Dallas has been out of action since April after suffering a serious knee injury against Manchester City in April 2022.

Mirco Antenucci

Antenucci landed at Leeds in 2015 after spending his entire career in his native Italy. He scored 19 goals in 75 league games during his two seasons at Elland Road.

He returned to his homeland in 2016 with SPAL, and helped propel them to promotion to Serie A with 18 goals in 37 games.

The forward spent two seasons in Serie A, before joining Bari in the Italian third-tier. At the age of 38, Antenucci is still going strong - scoring 60 goals in 129 appearances in the last three-and-a-half seasons.

Alex Mowatt

Mowatt was signed by Leeds' academy at the age of nine in 2004 and made his first team debut in 2013. He was named the club's Player of the Year in 2014-15 but joined Barnsley in January 2017.
However, Mowatt was loaned to League One side Oxford United after struggling to impress Paul Heckingbottom at Oakwell. He returned to Barnsley following their relegation to League One in 2018.
He was named in the PFA Team of the Year as they earned automatic promotion back to the Championship, and then helped Barnsley reach the Championship play-offs in 2021.
Mowatt left for West Brom at the start of the following season, and is spending the current campaign on loan at Middlesbrough.

Jordan Botaka

Botaka found his opportunities limited at Leeds and was shipped out to Charlton Athletic on a season-long loan in August 2016.

He was released by Leeds in 2017 and has embarked on a spell in Belgium, Netherlands and Israel since his departure.

The DR Congo international joined Israeli side Hapoel Jerusalem and has registered two goals and two assists in 24 league appearances for his new club this term.

Lee Erwin

Erwin made just 11 appearances for Leeds and has taken in spells at Bury, Oldham Athletic, Kilmarnock and Ross County in recent years.

The Scotsman has also had stints in Iran with Tractor, and in Finland at FC Haka. He joined Lebanese side Al-Ahed in November and has scored three goals in five appearances for the Yellow Castle.

Unused Subs: Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Lewie Coyle, Tom Adeyemi and Luke Murphy

Peacock-Farrell established himself as Leeds' first-team goalkeeper for the 2017/18 and 2018/19 season at Leeds, before Kiko Casilla's arrival under Marcelo Bielsa eventually saw him leave West Yorkshire and sign for Burnley. He is currently fighting to become their number one shot-stopper, being kept out of Vincent Kompany's side by Arijanet Muric.

Coyle made his first start for Leeds in the FA Cup third round of the 2015/16 season, however appearances as a White would be few and far between for the defender. The right-back made a temporary loan to Fleetwood Town a permanent one, before eventually signing for Hull City in August 2020, where the 27-year-old currently plays.

Adeyemi was on loan with Leeds from Cardiff City for the 2015/16 season and featured 23 times in total for the Whites. The Bluebirds would loan him out to Rotherham United the following season, before a final stint at Ipswich Town would see him call time on his playing career in 2019.

Murphy featured over 100 times for Leeds during a five-year spell at the club from 2013 to 2018. He would go on to play for both Crewe Alexandra and Bolton Wanderers, with the midfielder now plying his trade at Macclesfield Town having signed for them last summer.

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