Leeds United Football Club Under–21s is the most senior of

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

's youth teams and the club's former

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

. As of the

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

season, they play in the

Premier League 2 The Professional Development League is a system of youth football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the Premier League or by the Football League. It was introduced by the Football Association via the Elite Player Performanc ...

Division 2, the second tier of the

Professional Development League The Professional Development League is a system of youth association football, football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the Premier League or by the Football League. It was introduced by the The Football Association, Footbal ...

, following relegation from Division 1 in 2021–2022. The team host most of their home games at the club's Thorp Arch training complex, with some matches also taking place at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The g ...

. The under–23s replaced the club's under–21 team in 2016, which had replaced the reserve team in 2012 following the English game's reform of the youth football and the introduction of the

Elite Player Performance Plan The Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) is a youth development scheme initiated by the Premier League. The intention of the EPPP is to improve the quality and quantity of home-grown players produced by top English clubs. Measures introduced by th ...

. The club was initially awarded Category Two status but upgraded to Category One in 2020. The team is currently managed by Michael Skubala and competes in the

and the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

. Leeds United Football Club Under–18s are the academy's junior side and compete in the U18 Premier League and the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

. The team is managed by another former Academy graduate Scott Gardner. The academy itself is overseen by Manager Adam Underwood, who joined the club in 2017 and helped to secure Category One status three years later. The Leeds United u23's team won the PDL Cup in 2019 after beating Birmingham City u23's at

after a tense penalty shootout.

Current players

''For the 2022–23 season onwards, player eligibility is restricted to under-21 players (reduced from under-23) born after 1 January 2001. To help with the transition, teams were allowed up to five over-age outfield players (up from three) and one over-age goalkeeper. Only players born after 1 January 2004 (primarily scholars), are eligible to play for the Under 18s. Italics denotes player has received a call up to the squad but did not or has yet to receive a cap at that level.''

Graduates

The following list includes players who have graduated from Leeds' youth system to make their senior debut for the first team. Players who have represented their national team at senior level are highlighted in bold. *

Harry Kewell Harry Kewell (born 22 September 1978) is an Australian association football coach, manager and former player. His most recent role as a club manager was at English National League side Barnet, and he is currently a first team coach at Celtic F ...

* Jamie McMaster * Kun Temenuzhkov *

Tomi Ameobi Oluwatomiwo Ameobi (born 16 August 1988) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. Having come through the youth academy at Leeds United, he went on to play in the Football League for Scunthorpe United, Doncaster ...

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Lewis Bate Lewis Michael Bate (born 28 October 2002) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Leeds United. Early life Born in London, Bate started his career with local Sidcup-based side Foots Cray Lions, before joining Ch ...

* Mick Bates *

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Rod Belfitt Roderick Michael Belfitt (born 30 October 1945) is a former professional footballer who played for a number of English football teams. His family lived in South Africa and India before settling in Doncaster, where he later played football for am ...

* Jason Blunt * Rob Bowman * Aiden Butterworth *

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* Alex Cairns *

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Oliver Casey Oliver Joseph Casey (born 14 October 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Blackpool. He has previously played for Leeds United. Career Leeds United Born in Leeds, Casey came through the academy at Leeds Un ...

Jack Charlton John Charlton (8 May 193510 July 2020) was an English footballer and manager who played as a defender. He was part of the England national team that won the 1966 World Cup and managed the Republic of Ireland national team from 1986 to 199 ...

* Jack Clarke *

Terry Connor Terence Fitzroy Connor (born 9 November 1962) is an English former professional football player turned coach who is assistant manager at Blackpool. He was born in Leeds and was a pupil at Foxwood School, Seacroft, Leeds. As a player, Connor ...

* Lewis Cook * Terry Cooper *

Andy Couzens Andy Couzens (born 4 June 1975) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He notably played in the Premier League for Leeds United, as well as in the Football League for both Carlisle United and Blackpool. Play ...

* Lewie Coyle * Charlie Cresswell * Leif Davis *

Fabian Delph Fabian Delph (born 21 November 1989) is an English former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder or left-back. He was on the books of Bradford City as a youngster until he moved to Leeds United aged 11. Having played 45 matc ...

* Tyler Denton * Cody Drameh * Ryan Edmondson *

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* Gareth Evans * Mark Ford * Jamie Forrester * Scott Gardner *

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* Robbie Gotts *

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* Sam Greenwood *

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Peter Hampton Peter John Hampton (12 September 195425 September 2020) was an English footballer who played as a left back in the Football League for Leeds United, Stoke City, Burnley, Rochdale and Carlisle United. Career Hampton was born in Oldham and almo ...

* Terry Hibbitt *

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* Will Huffer * Norman Hunter * Mark Jackson * Jack Jenkins * Simon Johnson *

Matthew Kilgallon Matthew Shaun Kilgallon (born 8 January 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Kilgallon began his career at Leeds United, where he came through the youth set up before becoming a fixture in their first ...

Tom Lees Thomas James Lees (born 28 November 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Huddersfield Town. Lees began his career in the youth teams at Leeds before turning professional with the Yorkshire club in early 20 ...

Aaron Lennon Aaron Justin Lennon (; born 16 April 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger. Lennon began his career at hometown club Leeds United, making his first-team debut in 2003 and becoming the youngest player to play ...

John Lukic Jovan "John" Lukic ( Serbian: Јован "Џон" Лукић, ''Jovan "Džon" Lukić''; born 11 December 1960) is an English football coach and former professional footballer. He played as a goalkeeper from 1978 to 2001 and spent his entire pro ...

Paul Madeley Paul Edward Madeley (20 September 1944 – 23 July 2018) was an English footballer, who played for Leeds United and the England national team. During his career with Leeds, Madeley played in a variety of different playing positions which led to ...

* Lee Matthews *

James Milner James Philip Milner (born 4 January 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Liverpool. A versatile player, Milner has played in multiple positions, including on the wing, in midfield and at full-back. ...

Alex Mowatt Alex James Mowatt (born 13 February 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club West Bromwich Albion. Club career Leeds United Mowatt was born in Doncaster and attended Don Valley Academy, whilst playing fo ...

* Ben Parker * Tom Pearce * Sonny Perkins *

Kalvin Phillips Kalvin Mark Phillips (born 2 December 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Manchester City and the England national team. A Leeds United academy graduate, Phillips made his first-team debut in 2015 ...

Dominic Poleon Dominic Alfred Poleon is a footballer who plays as a forward for Ebbsfleet United and the Saint Lucia national team. He played youth football for Chelsea and Southend United before signing for Leeds United in August 2010. Whilst at Leeds he had ...

* Paul Robinson *

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Frazer Richardson Frazer Richardson (born 29 October 1982) is an English former professional footballer. Richardson began his career with Leeds United where he spent nine years making 186 appearances only interrupted by two loan spells at Stoke City in 2003. He ...

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Jamie Shackleton Jamie Stuart Shackleton (born 8 October 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays for club Leeds United. A versatile player, Shackleton can also play as a right-back, defensive midfielder, right midfielder or attacking midfielder. ...

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* Paul Shepherd * Alan Smith * Peter Swan * Charlie Taylor * Mark Tinkler * Ronaldo Vieira * Simon Walton * Noel Whelan * Mallik Wilks * Jonathan Woodgate *

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Pascal Struijk Pascal Augustus Struijk (born 11 August 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a left-back for club Leeds United. Born in Belgium, he has represented the Netherlands internationally at under-17 level. Early and personal life Struijk ...

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* Wesley Boyle *

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* Leo Fuhr Hjelde * Tommy Knarvik *

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* Gary Kelly *

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* Stephen McPhail *

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* John Sheridan * Eoghan Stokes *

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* Billy Bremner * Andy Gray * Eddie Gray *

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* Liam McCarron * Stuart McKinstry * Martin Woods * Tommy Wright * Mateo Joseph *

John Charles William John Charles (27 December 1931 – 21 February 2004) was a Welsh footballer who played as a centre-forward or as a centre-back. Best known for his first stint at Leeds United and Juventus, he was rated by many as the greatest all-round ...

* Chris Dawson * Neil Edwards * Carl Harris * Niall Huggins * Matthew Jones *

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* Shane Cansdell-Sherriff *

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* Daniel Batty * James Baxendale * David Brown *

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* Kevin Dixon * Matty Edwards *

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* Craig Farrell * Martin Foster *

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* Will Hatfield * Sean Hessey *

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* Elliot Kebbie * Liam Kitching * Nathan Lowndes * Tom Newey * Paul Pettinger * Jamie Price * Danny Rose (footballer, born 1990), Danny Rose * Neil Ross (footballer), Neil Ross * Gavin Rothery (footballer), Gavin Rothery * John Scales * David Seaman * Harpal Singh * Matthew Smithard * George Swan (footballer), George Swan * Tom Taiwo * James Tavernier * Danny Ward (English footballer), Danny Ward * Michael Woods (footballer), Michael Woods * Adam Priestley * Romario Vieira * Warren Feeney * Alan Cawley * Barry Corr * Caleb Folan * Paul Keegan (footballer, born 1984), Paul Keegan * Damian Lynch * Henry McStay * Ian Morris (footballer), Ian Morris * Tom Cairney * Oli McBurnie * Andrew Milne * Kevin Smith (footballer, born 1987), Kevin Smith * Jamie Winter * Chad Harpur * Max McMillan * Kevin Aherne-Evans * Lawrence Davies * Ryan Nicholls * Craig Stiens * Ethan Kachosa

Honours

Reserves

League *The Central League#1911–2020, The Central League (Tier 1) *Winners (2): 1936–37, 1997–98 *The Central League#2005–present, The Central League, Division One East (Tier 2) *Winners (2): 2008–09, 2009–10 Cup *West Riding County Cup, West Riding Senior Cup *Winners (2): 1926–27, 1963–64

Under 23s

League *Professional Development League, Premier League 2 Division 2 Champions (1): 2020–21 Professional U23 Development League, 2020–21 *

National Champions (1): 2018–19 *

North Division Champions (1): 2018–19

Under 18s

League *Professional Development League, U18 Professional Development League North Division Champions (1): 2012–13 *Professional Development League, U18 Professional Development League North Division Champions (1): 2017–18 Cup *

*Winners (2): FA Youth Cup Finals of the 1990s, 1992–93, FA Youth Cup Finals of the 1990s, 1996–97

Under 17s

League *Premier Academy League, FA Premier Academy League (Tier 1) *Winners (1): 2002–03 Cup *Milk Cup *Winners (1): 2002

Academy Coaching Staff

Academy Directors

Development Squad

Reserves

Under 19s & 17s and 18s & 16s

References

External links

Official Leeds United F.C. website - Reserve Player Profiles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leeds United F.C. Reserves And Youth Team Leeds United F.C., Reserves And Youth Team Football academies in England