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da pinup bet： This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
For Alfie McCalmont this season must have felt like an absolute whirlwind.
The midfielder has gone from playing U23 football in front of barely any fans at Thorp Arch, to featuring in front of thousands at Elland Road.
Not only that, but he’s now a full international too.
Coming into this season, the teenager had never played a senior game but in the space of a matter of weeks, he’s capped off a remarkable rise at just the age of 19.
Against Salford in the League Cup, he earned his senior team debut from the bench. He was then starting his opening game in Leeds colours for the first XI against Stoke.
Despite being dragged off at half time the faith shown by Marcelo Bielsa to even start him said it all about the Argentine’s attitude to the younger members of the squad.
The icing on the cake for McCalmont, however, has come during the international break.
Just weeks after making his debut for Leeds, he made his full international bow for Northern Ireland. Like one of Leeds’ great Northern Irishman of the past in David Healy, the 19-year-old made his debut against Luxembourg.
The 5 foot 9 youngster played in a role not too dissimilar to Kalvin Phillips as he was introduced in the second half.
Initially called-up to the U21 squad, this was quite the turn of events for a player who is only on the periphery at Leeds.
But it shows the true value of Bielsa. His faith in young players has been on evidence on a regular basis and his disappointment in exiting the Carabao Cup was a testament to this.
As of January last term, he’d handed out ten first-team debuts to players 21 or under. Considering they were a side challenging for promotion last season it’s quite the statistic.
Already this season the Leeds boss has given opportunities to Leif Davis, who is now just two matches away from equalling his senior team tally of matches from 2018/19.
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He’s also given minutes to Mateusz Bogusz and Jamie Shackleton. If you’re good enough at a young age then Bielsa will notice you.
For McCalmont, the 64-year-old’s value has been shown significantly and should inspire other members of the U23 squad to push hard in training.
A particular Jack Clarke, who refused to even shake his teammate’s hand after being substituted for the youth team last Sunday, could learn a thing or two.
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