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Leeds United may have made a huge mistake by selling a 20-year-old player and keeping these two players – Watch

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LEEDS, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 23: Joe Gelhardt and Sam Greenwood of Leeds United applaud fans after the Premier League match between Leeds United and Fulham FC at Elland Road on October 23, 2022 in Leeds, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

Leeds United sold Max Dean to MK Dons in January 2023. The striker’s rise earned him a lucrative move to Belgian side Gent in July.

Leeds’ investment in youth players in recent years has been mixed, with highlights including Crysencio Summerville, Pascal Struijk and Mateo Joseph who have shone for the club, but also a number of failed players who have never made their debut.

Numerous talented players looked like title threats but were sold before they even got the chance.

Max Dean leaves for Ghent in Belgium after stunning MK Dons period

Max Dean was signed by Leeds before he was given the chance to make his first-team debut. In January 2023, he moved to MK Dons alongside Mark Jackson, where Jesse Marsch was in charge at Elland Road.

His efforts for MK Dons were not enough to keep them in League One in his first half of the season, but his return to goal came in 23/24, netting 19 goals and five assists in 34 games in all competitions.

His ruthlessness in front of goal has now seen him climb the football ladder, interestingly enough at Gent in the Belgian top division:

Leeds may have let go of the wrong striker in Max Dean

When Dean’s goals first started to catch the eye in Leeds’ youth system, he was the third striker behind the two standouts Joe Gelhardt and Sam Greenwood.

The duo looked set to be the future of Leeds’ attack and when they broke through in 21/22 and made a significant contribution to their chances of survival under Marsch, it seemed to be true.

Both players, however, have faced the same dilemma: neither seemed to have a permanent position, with several Elland Road managers failing to find them a regular place in the squad. Both have had fairly disappointing EFL loans since Dean’s transfer in 2023.

Gelhardt now looks set to be sidelined under Daniel Farke at Leeds, while Greenwood begins his second season-long loan spell after Middlesbrough turned down the chance to exercise a £1.5m purchase option, which would have seen Leeds just break even on the forward.

Meanwhile, Dean looks like a striker who can stretch the attacking line, press high and aggressively and boasts the ability to finish well from both feet in a variety of positions – something that would be worth having in the current squad.

In Gelhardt’s case in particular, it seems like he just needs the right environment and system to allow his talent to flourish. But he’s not going to get that at Leeds. Dean could easily have gotten that in a more direct role as number nine.

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