According to Football Insider, Leeds United’s upgrade to Category 1 status for their Academy means that the Whites can finally get the £300,000 signing of teen striker Charlie Allen over the line.
Confirmation of teen striker Allen’s capture came in mid-May when the BelfastLive website confirmed that the Whites had snapped the talented teen up. They boldly stated that “Leeds United have won the race” to sign the talented young midfielder-cum-striker who they term a “teenage sensation.” Allen is considered one of the top talents in Northern Ireland.
Yet, as Football Insider’s Wayne Veysey wrote at the end of May, the deal to bring Allen to the Whites may be secure but it wasn’t complete. Reporting what he had been told by a ‘Leeds source’, Veysey wrote: “The club have agreed the terms of the deal but the pandemic restrictions have prevented them signing off the transfer and formally registering Allen.”
Now Veysey writes that the upgrade to Leeds United’s facilities, coupled with the easing of lockdown will see Allen “set to be welcomed to United and unveiled as one of the first arrivals following the landmark academy grading.”
The 16-year-old striker is said to have agreed on a scholarship deal that will convert to a three-year professional agreement on his 17th birthday, which is in November.
The upgrade to Category 1 will give Leeds United many benefits in the long-run but it appears that, in the short-term, it is a case of youngster Charlie Allen being the first of a new intake to be attracted to the club.
