Leeds United endured a difficult end to the summer transfer window because they failed to add the extra winger that they were looking for on deadline day last week.
The Whites reportedly felt they met the asking price for Fulham winger Harry Wilson to come in and bolster Daniel Farke's options on the right flank in the Premier League this season.
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However, the Cottagers had a late change of heart and decided that they wanted to keep hold of the Wales international, which meant that the Championship champions did not make any additions to their squad on deadline day.
The end of the transfer window has not put an end to transfer rumours, though, as the Whites were recently linked with a move for Nico O'Reilly.
The latest on Leeds United's interest in Nico O'Reilly
CaughtOffside reported last Friday that Leeds United are one of a number of teams interested in a potential swoop to sign the Manchester City midfielder to bolster their squad.
The outlet claimed that Bayer Leverkusen, Nottingham Forest, Brighton, and Lyon are all keeping tabs on his situation at The Etihad ahead of a possible move to snap him up in a future window.
However, CaughtOffside added that Manchester City would like to keep hold of their 20-year-old academy graduate. They are not looking to cash in on him any time soon, which suggests that a January transfer is an unrealistic prospect.
Farke and Leeds, however, may not need to pursue a deal for the Cityzens starlet because they have a young talent who could be their own version of O'Reilly in Charlie Crew.
Why Charlie Crew is a promising talent for Leeds United
The Welsh central midfielder is currently on loan at Doncaster Rovers in League One, gaining valuable experience that will stand him in good stead moving forward.
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Crew, like O'Reilly, is a versatile star who can play in defence, in defensive midfield, or as a central midfielder, per Transfermarkt, which means that they both offer a similar level of versatility.
The 19-year-old, who is a year younger than the Manchester City star, may not have emerged as a Premier League-grade talent yet, but he has shown promising signs in his short career already, winning promotion to League One with Doncaster Rovers last season.
24/25 League Two Charlie Crew per 90 Percentile rank vs CMs
Long pass accuracy 63.3% Top 3%
Long passes made 3.40 Top 11%
Dribble success rate 78.6% Top 6%
Successful dribbles 1.21 Top 17%
Tackle success rate 66.7% Top 26%
Tackles made 1.75 Top 11%
Stats via FotMob
As you can see in the table above, Crew caught the eye with his contributions on and off the ball in League Two in the second half of the 2024/25 campaign.
Interestingly, O'Reilly ranked within the top 7% of his positional peers in the Premier League for successful dribbles (1.54) per 90 and completed 60% of his attempted dribbles.
Nico-OReilly
This shows that O'Reilly and Crew are both flexible defence and midfield hybrids who can get their team up the pitch with effective dribbling and ball-carrying, whilst they can also both put their foot in to make tackles.
In the summer of 2024, Crysencio Summerville told supporters to "look out" for the Wales international and described him as a "really good" talent, having trained with him at Leeds.
Crew, therefore, could be Farke's own version of O'Reilly if he decides to recall him in January or reassess where he is at next season after his time in League One with Doncaster, as he is a similar profile of player and another young talent with seemingly big potential.