Marcelo Bielsa has highlighted Joe Gelhardt's bright start to life at Leeds United as the club's under-21s side prepare for a make-or-break final group stage fixture in the EFL Trophy.
Since his summer arrival from Wigan Athletic, England youth international Gelhardt has wasted no time in settling in and has netted four times in seven Premier League 2 appearances so far this term.
While any talk of a first-team promotion for the 18-year-old may be somewhat premature at this stage, Bielsa has acknowledged Gelhardt's form so far this season.
"Yes, he is a player that is progressing," the Whites head coach said ahead of last weekend's trip to Crystal Palace as he discussed how important the under-23s set-up is at Thorp Arch.
"The evolution of the whole under-23s team, we follow it closely.
"We analyse every performance of the under-23s as if it were the first team and because normally we train with 22 players and when we are missing any of those 22 players then we substitute them with some of the under-23s.
"I think that around fifty per cent of the players in the under-23s can apply for a place on our team."
Mark Jackson's under-23s side currently sit second in the Premier League 2 table in their first year in the competition, following the Leeds United academy's promotion to the category one tier in the summer.
That has also meant the club have been able to field an under-21s side in the EFL Trophy this season, with their final group match taking place this evening when Leeds head to League One side Blackpool.
A win for Jackson's side will see them progress out of Group G and into the knockout stages following Accrington's victory over Barrow last night, with the likes of Gelhardt and his fellow summer signing Sam Greenwood, who won September's Premier League 2 player of the month award, in contention to play.
The likes of Charlie Cresswell, Cody Drameh and Nohan Kenneh will miss the match after being called up for international duty, with the Seasiders knowing that a draw will be enough for them to progress.
The match kicks off at 7pm on Wednesday evening and is available to stream via iFollow. We will be blogging the match in full here on LeedsLive.
