17y/o striker training with Bielsa’s side ahead of Leeds v Man Utd clash – originally posted on Sportslens.com
Leeds United under-18 star Charlie Allen has been training with the first-team ahead of Sunday’s clash against bitter rivals Manchester United.
Great to see 17-year-old Charlie Allen training with the first team ahead of this weekends game against Manchester United!
Charlie has impressed for both #LUFC U18’s&23’s since his summer move from Linfield and was recently rewarded with his first Northern Ireland U19 call-up pic.twitter.com/p7yAGc7W3j
— LUFC Youth (@leedsutdacademy) April 23, 2021
Marcelo Bielsa’s side have secured Premier League safety ahead of next season, but they are keen to finish comfortably in the top-half of the table.
Nevertheless, the Argentine head coach could be looking to hand few playing minutes to some of the academy players in the coming games, and it will be interesting to see whether Allen will make any of the matchday squads and get on the pitch.
Allen has definitely caught the eyes of Bielsa to have earned a chance to train with his team.
The striker has featured in 13 under-18 Premier League games since his summer move from Linfield, scoring twice and weighing in with two goals.
Allen has also made six Premier League 2 appearances, playing once in the EFL Trophy and FA Youth Cup.
The Leeds man was also rewarded with his first Northern Ireland under-19 call-up during the last international break and is one to keep an eye on.
The Athletic’s Phil Hay was full of praises for the young striker after he signed, telling Leeds fans to watch out for him.
“Look out for Leeds’ new signing Charlie Allen, a striker from Linfield. He’s only 16 but people can’t speak highly enough of him,” Hay said on The Athletic.
Hay also talked extensively about the teenager in one of his podcasts
“So, they’ve got Charlie Allen in from Linfield, 16-year-old striker who, to look at him, already looks like he’s got a man’s body for a boy’s brain,” He said on The Athletic’s The Phil Hay Show last year.
“He was very, very highly thought of in Northern Ireland and a lot of clubs [were] in for him and I know that, without being disrespectful to anybody else who’s coming in, I know that was one of the deals that Leeds were desperate to get done for the academy, they saw that as a real priority.
“I am told that he has trained with the [Under] 18s and has already looked very, very impressive, and I think despite his age, that the plan will be to try and get him in with the [Under] 23s as much as possible.”