Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has proven that he has the willingness to involve and develop young players in the first-team setup since his move to the club last summer.
Then-17-year-old Archie Gray was thrown in at the deep end by the German head coach at the start of the season and has been trusted by the boss throughout the campaign, which helped him to earn the Championship Young Player of the Year award earlier this month.
The Whites have had a number of impressive young players come through the academy system over the years; including the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Lewis Cook, Jack Clarke, and Leif Davis, among others.
One academy star Leeds hit the jackpot with in the past was central midfielder James Milner, who came up through the ranks in Yorkshire before completing a big-money move away from Elland Road.
James Milner's time at Leeds
The 5 foot 9 star was born in Leeds and did not cost the club a penny to sign as he joined their youth setup at a young age and worked his way up to the first-team.
Milner, who therefore cost the club £0, made his senior debut for the Whites during the 2002/03 campaign as he went on to play 21 matches across the Premier League and FA Cup in all competitions.
After a one-month loan spell with Swindon in the Second Division at the start of the 2003/04 season, the English dynamo nailed down a spot in the middle of the park for Leeds.
Appearances
30
Minutes played
2,380
Goals
3
Assists
0
Yellow cards
2
As you can see in the table above, Milner emerged as a regular fixture in midfield for the club and scored his first three goals in the Premier League.
How much Leeds sold James Milner for
At the end of his second season at senior level, Newcastle United swooped in to secure his services on a permanent deal in the summer of 2004.
Totally Money have taken the 100 most expensive transfers of all time across each season since 1992 in Europe's top five leagues. Armed with plenty of historical financial data they have calculated what footballers of yesteryear would be worth in the present day after taking into account the remarkable rate of inflation.
Per Totally Money, the Magpies splashed out a fee of £6.6m at the time, which – per their transfer index – would be worth a whopping £23.8m in today's money.
When adjusting for the inflation of transfer fees over the subsequent 19, almost 20, years, Newcastle paid a sum that would be worth close to £25m in the current day, which shows that Leeds hit the jackpot with Milner.
They developed a young player in their academy and offered him a chance to showcase his quality in the Premier League, which then earned the club a huge payday – relative to the time – for a player they did not pay a penny to sign.
The now-38-year-old has gone on to enjoy a fantastic career in England; playing for Newcastle, Aston Villa, Manchester City, Liverpool, and (his current club) Brighton & Hove Albion.
Milner has racked up a staggering 634 appearances in the Premier League, with a return of 55 goals and 89 assists in total, for all of those teams and Leeds combined.
Overall, the Whites should be proud of his career, having come through the academy at Thorp Arch, and should be happy with the money they raked in for a youth team product almost 20 years ago.
