Leeds United brought in German head coach Daniel Farke in the hope that he would be able to lead the club back to the Premier League this season.
The Whites are third in the Championship and seven points off the automatic promotion places as it stands, and are well in the race to secure an instant return to the top-flight.
Farke also arrived with a reputation for developing young players, after working with the likes of James Maddison, Ben Godfrey, Max Aarons, and Emiliano Buendia at Norwich, and quickly utilised his skills in that department to unearth Archie Gray.
The 17-year-old talent has already made 18 Championship appearances for the Whites this season, and the German head coach may have one eye on the academy to find the next one off the production line.
One U21 star who could develop into a first-team option is versatile 20-year-old midfielder Charlie Allen, who the boss could unearth as a rival to Glen Kamara.
Glen Kamara’s season in numbers
Leeds signed the Finland international from Rangers over the summer and he has hit the ground running with his impressive performances in Yorkshire.
Statistic | Kamara in 23/24 Championship (via Sofascore) |
|---|---|
Appearances | 12 |
Sofascore rating | 7.13 |
Assists | Two |
Key passes | 16 |
Pass accuracy | 93% |
As you can see in the table above, Kamara has been a reliable option for Farke in possession with his consistently solid displays in midfield.
No Leeds player with at least one start has completed a higher percentage of their attempted passes, and he ranks fourth within the current group for key passes (1.3) per game.
This shows that the ex-Arsenal prospect is an excellent passer of the ball who is also able to create chances for his teammates from a midfield position.
The statistics that show why Allen could rival Kamara
Allen is a natural central midfielder but has also been deployed on the flanks at times by Leeds at youth level, which has allowed him to develop the creative side of his game.
He racked up three goals and two assists in 28 U18 matches for the club before the talented gem earned a place in the U21 set-up at Thorp Arch.
The Northern Ireland U21 international has since produced five goals and seven assists in 50 games for the U21s, which shows that he has the ability to chip in with goals and assists from a midfield position.
Allen, who sports editor Patrick Van Dort claimed has been dubbed a “dream to coach”, has previously showcased his passing quality with a pass success rate of 97% inside his own half across two EFL Trophy matches during the 2021/22 campaign.
That came after the young prospect completed 100% of his attempted passes inside his own half in one appearance in that competition the previous season.
The Leeds maestro, who won six of his ten duels and made four tackles in a U21 match against England for his country last month, has the attributes to compete in the midfield area for the Farke with his creativity and passing reliability.
Whether or not he can translate his quality over to first-team level is another question, though, and it will be interesting to see if the manager will provide him with an opportunity to stake a claim for a place in the squad as a rival to Kamara.
