Two young Leeds United players agree new deals

Leeds look to secure the future of the team with a pair of young players signing new deals at the club. Both Tyler Denton and Kalvin Phillips put pen to paper today to cement their future at the club.

Tyler Denton is a left back who got a couple appearances for the first team during both the League Cup and the FA Cup last season. The 21 year old scored his first goal for the club in his debut against Luton Town in the League Cup. He also made the bench a few times during the season and was a regular in the U23s for the Academy. Denton’s new deal will keep him at the club until 2020.

Kalvin Phillips appeared 40 times last season after making his Leeds debut in 2015 against Wolverhampton. The midfielder told the club’s official website, leedsunited.com that “I joined the club when I was 14 and grew up in Leeds, so to sign a contract extension is an honour for me and I’m looking forward to helping the club get back to where it belongs.” The 21 year-old got a four year extension to his contract, keeping him at the club until 2021.

Leeds United have been active during the summer transfer window, but perhaps the most important signings have been the extensions to home-grown players such as Denton and Phillips. Earlier in the summer Leeds locked up budding star Ronaldo Vieira to a new contract and also had goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell and fullback Lewie Coyle commit to new deals.

Coyle was also sent out on loan in order to get first team football, but it appears that both Phillips and Denton are part of Christiansen’s plans for the team this season, as neither appear to be going anywhere. Given the lack of depth on defence and after the departure of Charlie Taylor, Denton has a great opportunity to knock down the door and get into the first team this season. Phillips, along with Vieira, is one of the budding stars in the Leeds midfield.

Sealing up the future of both players is an important step towards ensuring the future of the club and avoiding ugly contract stand-offs that have plagued the team in the recent past with young players. Along with the new emphasis on the Academy, this is a good sign that Victor Orta, the team’s Director of Football, places a great deal of value on young players and building the team from the ground up, rather than signing expensive, aging players. New contracts for young players rarely make great headlines, but they do ensure the future of the club.