da wazamba： Leeds United seemed to be onto a winner with their youth recruitment policy a few years ago.
da pixbet： The Whites made a string of impressive signings for their U23s from some of the world’s biggest clubs, with the likes of Guille Amor, Rafa Mujica, Oriol Rey and Ousama Siddiki joining from either Real Madrid or Barcelona.
Unfortunately, things haven’t quite worked out for any of the aforementioned players, with only Mujica still on the books, but United do still have another ex-Barcelona youngster in their ranks, and it looks as though he could be headed in the same direction as the likes of Amor, Rey and Siddiki.
Kun Temenuzhkov was a key man in Leeds’ U23 side winning the PDL National Title back in 2019, and although it’s easy to forget, he has first-team experience for Leeds, appearing once in the FA Cup.
The 20-year-old was sent out on loan to Real Union this season, and things despite getting an opportunity to play senior football, things don’t seem to be going his way in terms of carving out a path at Elland Road.
He hasn’t played a single minute for his new side, and to make matters worse, back in Yorkshire, there are two new U23 stars making a name for themselves.
Sam Greenwood and Joe Gelhart have formed something of a formidable partnership for Mark Jackson’s side, netting six goals in four games between them, and if their good form continues, it’s hard to see where there is room for Temenuzhkov as the first-team picture is even more competitive than it was when he left after the £27m signing of Rodrigo.
Temenuzhkov was once tipped to be one of the next big stars in football, making the Guardian’s list of the 60 best young talents in the world in 2017, being compared to Luis Suarez in the process, but despite that high praise three years ago, the Bulgarian hasn’t kicked on and it’s hard to envisage him ever getting a chance at Elland Road.