Harry Gray scored a hat-trick as the Leeds United Under-21s beat Scunthorpe 3-1 in the National League Cup on Wednesday night. The young forward’s exploits for the youth team this season have raised questions about his lack of involvement in the first team.
The Leeds first team are struggling in the final third, and their only league goal this season has come from the penalty spot in their opening game of the season against Everton last month.
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The Whites are yet to score from open play this season, and serious questions are being asked about their forwards and their ability to score the goals needed to keep Leeds in the Premier League by the end of the campaign.
However, Leeds have a gem of a forward in their academy in the form of Gray. The 16-year-old striker hails from a famous family of Leeds legends, and he is now banging on the door of Daniel Farke to give him a chance in the first team.
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Harry Gray scores a hat-trick to demand a Leeds United first-team call-up
The 16-year-old forward made his first-team debut last season. However, his only appearance in the squad this season was in the EFL Cup defeat at Sheffield Wednesday, and he was an unused substitute.
Farke wants to be careful about managing his development and is insistent on talking about him in press conferences. However, he cannot afford to ignore his performances.
Gray has scored four times in three Premier League 2 appearances this season and has now scored a hat-trick against a senior Scunthorpe side in the National League Cup.
🤯 Gray hat-trick! Some strike! 1-3 pic.twitter.com/PKp3rwg3pT
— Leeds United Academy (@LUFCacad) September 16, 2025
The striker is doing everything needed in youth football to show that he may be too good to continue playing at that level this season.
Farke’s team are struggling to create or score goals, and Gray showed during pre-season that he can do more than just find the back of the net as a striker.
The Leeds manager has resisted naming him in his Premier League matchday squads despite his exploits in the Under-21s this season.
However, his performances and goals cannot be ignored forever.
His Premier League debut is inevitable now
Leeds are a side struggling to score goals, and they are not creating much for their strikers either. It will be too much to put the onus on a 16-year-old striker to get the team going in the Premier League.
However, Gray is scoring the goals and putting in the performances to show that he may be too good to continue playing for the Under-21s this season.
He is still not there to start games in the Premier League, but the 16-year-old is doing enough to be part of the matchday squads regularly at the moment.
His ability to find the back of the net and the natural enthusiasm of a teenager make him the perfect player to make an impact from the bench in some games.
Farke wants to manage the expectations around the teenager, but he cannot continue to ignore his goals and performances while his strikers are registering blanks.
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