Leeds United have officially secured the services of Stuart McKinstry as the club has offered him a three-year deal. The 17-year-old winger had impressed for the Whites’ reserve team, and it was no surprise that he secured his professional contract.
Leeds United’s love affair with youth prospects
McKinstry has already represented Scotland at the u-17 level, and he is seen as a talent for the future. English club Southampton were also interested in him at one point in time. Leeds reportedly paid a compensation fee of £400,000 to Motherwell to bring him earlier this year. The youngster has already started to impress for the u-23 team, and he joins the list of numerous young players who have joined the club of late to boost the pool of young players.
The club has brought in Sam Dalby, Jordan Stevens, Ryan Edmondson, Mateusz Bogusz and Leif Davis to continue their youth development and some of them have even broken into the first team. It is clear that the Whites have a strategy to pick talented young players and then groom and develop them at Elland Road.
McKinstry: One For The Future
Motherwell wanted to keep the youngster for a bit longer, but the lure of playing in England was too tough to ignore. Moreover, the youngster could be playing in the English top-flight in one or two seasons so that also would have been a tipping point towards him leaving the Scottish side.
McKinstry was involved in senior matchday squads a few times for Motherwell. The youngster is unlikely to make much impact in the first team this season at United. However, if he keeps on impressing for Corberan’s side, then he could very well be drafted in the senior squad. Bielsa hasn’t been afraid to pick young players and involve them with the senior team. Moreover, Jack Clarke could depart in January so there could be a vacancy on the wings.
The 17-year-old is known to be a tricky player, and the youngster recently caught the eye against Watford reserves where the Whites won 6-0 and McKinstry was able to win two penalties. The youngster turned 17 just last week only so he is still relatively young and has time on his hands to establish himself at the Yorkshire club.
Hopefully, the Scottish youngster would be able to adapt quickly. The prospect of playing in the Premier League should excite him further. The fact that the club paid £400,000 for a 16-year-old suggests that he is a top talent in the making.
