Daniel Farke has several exciting talents under his nose at Leeds.
The German has the precocious Harry Gray at his disposal, while Leeds also own another prodigy in Joe Gelhardt – who is currently starring on loan at Hull City with seven goals in 15 Championship outings.
Leeds also have Charlie Crew – but the Welshman has just suffered a blow while on international duty with the Wales U21 side.
Charlie Crew endures further misery with Wales U21s away from Leeds United after Belarus thumping
The 19-year-old and his teammates now face an uphill battle to qualify for the UEFA U21 European Championship, which takes place in the summer of 2027.
Crew captained his country to a 3-0 defeat against the Belarus U21 side on Friday evening, as Ruslan Myalkovski netted in the 14th minute and kickstarted a tough night for the young Dragons.
The teenager started in central midfield, forcing Ivan Shimakovich into a good save as he tried to salvage a result for his nation, but it ultimately ended in yet another defeat.
The Wales U21 side have now lost three out of four games in qualifying so far, conceding 16 goals and scoring just four – leaving Crew and his teammates dead last behind Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Belarus.
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Charlie Crew remains a valued talent at Leeds United
While the Cardiff-born prospect, who is currently on loan at Doncaster, will have hoped for this qualification campaign to go better than it currently is, he still looks set to have a bright future at Elland Road.
Ethan Ampadu is a big fan of Crew, telling BBC Radio Leeds in November 2024: “It’s great to see, we know how good Charlie is as a player… we all know his potential and we want him to reach that.
Charlie Crew in action for Wales
Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images
Crew – who impressed Welsh fans in March – also has two caps for the senior Wales side, so Ampadu has been able to witness how he handles that level of football for both club and country.
It speaks volumes that the Leeds wonderkid was also chosen to captain Wales at U15, U16 and U17 level before also receiving the armband for the U21 side.
Crew is clearly a natural leader at the age of just 19, which bodes very well for his future at Leeds.