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Comments from Adam Forshaw and Marcelo Bielsa in recent weeks made it seem as if Robbie Gotts was nearing the point where he would be deemed ready to make his first-team debut.
Indeed, the young midfielder looked set to be the next youngster in line for a shot at the senior squad, but what happened on Wednesday night may have set him and certainly a few others back.
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Rather than being called up to first-team action, Gotts has remained in the U23 side, and it may be fair to say that Wednesday represented one of the worst evenings in the midfielder’s young career.
Indeed, the 20-year-old led his team out as captain as they were thrashed 7-1 by Derby’s U23 side on a sour night.
It was an all-round poor performance from Leeds’ youth team, but a lot of blame will have to rest with Carlos Corberan and his captain for the night as Gotts failed to galvanise his team while donning the armband.
The youngster seemingly wasn’t the greatest of leaders out on the pitch, and that doesn’t bode well for his chances of breaking into the first-team anytime soon. With Mateusz Bogusz and Alfie McCalmont missing through international duty, this was an ideal opportunity for him to step up and perform.
However, that failed to be the case. Instead, the midfielder would likely have been better off simply not playing on Wednesday too. Amidst many poor performers, his reputation won’t have been enhanced at all.
Of course, losing 7-1 is a team effort and the blame can’t solely lie on Gotts’ shoulders, but this result certainly doesn’t reflect well on him and it may have set his development within the squad back a little bit.
With Leeds looking for someone to step up and be counted, the youngster clearly still has a long way to go. He was one of the most experienced men in the side but his team simply wilted away without too many traces of improving.