Marsch told he has a truly ‘dangerous’ 18-year-old in his ranks, Leeds fans should be excited – TBR View

Sat 17 September 2022 13:15, UK Updated Sat 17 September 2022 17:01, UK

With Leeds United not in action this weekend, all eyes were on the Whites Under-21s on Friday night.

Michael Skubala’s charges took on Southampton’s U21s at Elland Road, in front of over 10,000 fans.

Liam Cooper, Luke Ayling, Junior Firpo and Patrick Bamford all started for Leeds.

Wilfried Gnonto, who signed for the Whites on deadline day, was also in the starting XI.

With such a strong line-up, Leeds unsurprisingly ran out 6-2 winners.

The Whites were 4-0 up by half time, thanks to a first-half Bamford brace, with Crysencio Summerville and Cooper also netting.

Bamford completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot on 53 minutes before Sonny Perkins made it 6-0 three minutes later.

Southampton netted two late consolations but, by that point, were never going to threaten the outcome of the game.

The win consolidated the Whites’ position at the top of the Premier League 2 Division 2 table.

In addition, it ensured that Skubala remains unbeaten as Leeds U21 manager.

The Thorp Arch outfit has won four games and drawn one so far in 2022-23.

While the Leeds first-teamers were the ones to watch ahead of the game, the spotlight arguably belonged to two academy stars after the game.

One was Summerville, and the other was Perkins.

“I think Sonny grew into the game,” Skubala told Leeds Live after the game.

“As the game started to open up I thought Sonny had a really good second half and looked dangerous.”

Perkins got one of Leeds’ six goals on the day, taking his tally to six from five PL2 games.

The 18-year-old’s efforts in August saw him win the Premier League 2 Player of the Month award.

West Ham’s loss is Leeds’ gain here, and his future looks incredibly bright.

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