One thing that the current Leeds United squad seems to be lacking is the next great academy product. Centre-back Pascal Struijk is a graduate of their academy, but at 26 years of age, he is firmly established in the first team.
18-year-old Scottish attacker Sam Chambers has played for the senior team, but has not even been on the bench this season,
Of course, over the last few years, some excellent players have come through the Leeds academy system and made it to the first team. Kalvin Phillips is one name who springs to mind, becoming a key player in the midfield at Elland Road before moving to Manchester City.
Kalvin Phillips for Leeds United
The other player who fits the bill was Archie Gray.
Archie Gray’s career at Leeds
The 19-year-old is arguably one of the most successful academy graduates at Elland Road in recent years. He has deep family ties to Leeds, and came through their academy before breaking into the first team.
In total, the versatile midfielder, who was born in Durham, played 52 games for the club. All those appearances came in the 2023/24 campaign, a season in which he chipped in with two assists.
Archie-gray-championship-leeds-farke
After a successful debut season in professional football for Gray, the youngster, who can also play at right-back and did so 30 times for the Whites, secured a big transfer. He joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2024 for a fee of around £30m.
Since moving down to North London, the 19-year-old has played 48 games for the Lilywhites. He’s once again shown great versatility, playing full-back on both sides, at centre-back and in his natural midfield role. Of course, Gray was also a Europa League winner last term.
Archie Gray
Since Gray, Leeds haven’t had a top academy prospect break into the first-team squad and establish themselves. Well, perhaps the next big thing is waiting in the wings.
Leeds’ best academy talent since Gray
Certainly, if Gray is able to break through under Daniel Farke and become an established first-team player, the same door could be open for future academy talents on the books at Elland Road.
Well, perhaps sooner or later, that player will be Scotland youth attacker Lewis Pirie. The versatile forward joined Leeds back in 2023 from Scottish outfit Aberdeen. After starting out in the under-18s side, he’s broken into the under-21s this season.
In his first two full seasons as a Leeds academy player, his record shows why he is considered such an “exciting” prospect. At least, that is a word that former Aberdeen manager Jim Goodwin used to describe him.
Indeed, Pirie has played 29 games for the club over the past couple of years. In that time, he’s found the back of the net on seven occasions, and assisted one goal, too.
Having played 1701 minutes, he has a minutes per goal and assist record of 213 minutes.
The 18-year-old is has already built up a strong reputation for himself. He can operate on both flanks and up front, and has even played deeper as a number 10 for the Leeds academy.
As we saw with Gray, Farke loves versatility, which could be a key difference to helping him reach the first-team.
Pirie's record (min 45 mins played)
Position
Centre forward
Right wing
Right midfield
Left wing
Attacking midfield
Stats from Transfermarkt
With the versatility he offers and the clear goal threat he can bring to the table, Pirie could be the perfect option if Farke wishes to bring another academy star into the first team at Elland Road.
It will be fascinating to see if the Whites boss will look to bring through another young talent into the frame. If so, that player could very well be Pirie.