Leeds United’s four wonderkids on Football Manager 2022

Planet Football • 12 Dec 2021

Football Manager 2022 is out now and the task of restoring Leeds United to their former glories will prove an alluring one for many players.

Marcelo Bielsa has done wonders since taking over at Elland Road, getting the club promoted to the Premier League and finishing ninth in the 2020-21 season. – all of which is to say there’s a solid base for anybody willing to take on the challenge of managing Leeds on FM2022.

According to FMScout, Leeds United have four wonderkids on the latest edition of the game. Here’s a round-up of all of them.

Charlie Cresswell

Son of former Leeds and Stoke striker Richard Cresswell, the 19-year-old is well thought of at Thorp Arch and was handed his senior debut by Bielsa in a League Cup defeat to Hull in September 2020.

He’s been a standout performer for the club’s Under-23 side for a number of years and, with something of an injury crisis in west Yorkshire, Cresswell may get more first-team opportunities over the Christmas period.

Speaking after signing his new contract earlier this year, the centre-back said: “I’m confident, I’m a leader, I like to play and I like to head it!

“There are lots of players in the first team that I look up to, the likes of Coops, Bill, they lead by example and that is what I want to try and follow.”

Lewis Bate

Bate, 19, was by all accounts one of Chelsea’s most promising youth prospects, but he jumped ship to Elland Road in the summer due to a clearer pathway to regular senior football.

Given Leeds’ problems in central midfield this season, and Bate’s outstanding performances for the Premier League 2, there’s been a clamour for the youngster to be promoted to the first-team set-up.

But Marcelo Bielsa is being patient with the teenager, and it’s an approach he’s been vindicated with before.

READ: How Bielsa’s ruthlessness prepares Leeds’ young stars for senior success

Mateusz Bogusz

Currently on loan at La Liga 2 side UD Ibiza until the end of the season, Bogusz is thriving in Spain and doesn’t appear likely to make a swift return to Leeds.

“Honestly, I didn’t like it at Logrones,” he told HITC. “We mainly defended on the pitch.

“Ibiza is completely different. We play a lot here and want to keep the ball. It suits me. It suits my style. If I could, I would like to stay in Spain.”

And, after only making three appearances under Bielsa, it appears that the long-term future of Bogusz lies away from Elland Road.

Joe Gelhardt

Gelhardt has impressed Leeds fans with his cameo appearances in the first team this season – and his stunning form for the Under=23s made him the name of everybody lips.

The 19-year-old has managed seven goals in nine PL2 appearances and the signing from Wigan won’t be playing at this level for much longer if this season is anything to go by – the cheeky penalty against Fulham in the League Cup was our personal highlight.

He also scored his first Premier League goal in a defeat to Chelsea, becoming Leeds’ youngest scorer in the top-flight since James Milner in 2004.

Basically, get him in your Football Manager squad and reap the rewards.