York City starlet seals Leeds United switch

Well, another youth player appears to have signed for Leeds United.

Reports over the weekend had Leeds and York City working on a deal for 16 year-old striker Ryan Edmondson, and while the club has not officially announced the deal, they never really do announce youth team deals.

This is another link between York City and Leeds, as the club recently recalled young goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell from a month-long loan spell at Bootham Crescent, and as we noted at the time, Thorp Arch is actually closer to Bootham Crescent than it is to Elland Road.

Leeds have been active in trying to secure deals for a large number of youth players, as building the Academy was one of the main priorities for Andrea Radrizzani when he took over ownership of Leeds, and one of the reasons that Ivan Bravo, who is head of the Aspire Academy in Qatar, is on the board of Leeds United.

Leeds added a number of players from Spain during the summer transfer window, with players coming from youth systems at Barcelona, Rayo Vallecano, and Real Madrid. The Academy was also active in the UK as well, snapping up Madger Gomes from Liverpool and Bryce Hosannah from Crystal Palace. Gomes has made a couple of appearances for the first team at Leeds, and it appeared he might have made the senior squad, as he was one of the last players to be sent back to the Academy after spending most of the preseason with the first team.

Ryan Edmondson has made a few first team appearances for York City, and while it’s exciting for him and his family and friends, don’t expect Edmondson to be wearing the famous White kit at Elland Road anytime soon for anything other than a friendly or a U23 match. As with most 16 year olds, he needs time to develop and playing in the Leeds United U23s is perfect for him until he gets used to a higher level of competition.