Report: Blackburn eye Leeds starlet Niall Huggins

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Leeds United youngster Niall Huggins has attracted interest from Blackburn Rovers with Leeds Live suggesting that he is one of the players training away from the rest of the group at Thorp Arch.

Huggins looked set to go into this summer with a real opportunity to push himself up the pecking order.

The 20-year-old was one of the under-23s’ most impressive players in what was a fantastic year for Mark Jackson’s side.

And he was rewarded with a first-team debut. He came off the bench at Arsenal in February. It came just a few months after he was handed a new contract until 2023.

Unfortunately, it now appears that his future lies elsewhere.

According to Leeds Live, a handful of young players are believed to be training separately. And Huggins is one of those.

The report adds that Blackburn have shown interest in the Wales under-21 international. It remains to be seen if he ends up moving to Ewood Park.

Blackburn links with Huggins highlight problem Leeds now face as progress continues

There were a number of years when Leeds’ academy was one of the only things leaving supporters with hope.

Players such as Alex Mowatt, Lewis Cook, Charlie Taylor and Sam Byram were rare shining lights. It probably says a lot that the image of the quartet celebrating a goal is so deeply ingrained in fans’ minds to this day.

Leeds have done some outstanding work with their under-23s in the last few years. And there remains a number of players within the system who look seriously exciting.

But Marcelo Bielsa’s side continue to make progress. And with that, the bar for the under-23s continues to get higher and higher.

Players such as Robbie Gotts, Alfie McCalmont and Huggins would potentially be playing fairly regularly already if Leeds remained in the Championship.

A lot of brilliant young players are going to go on and have amazing careers. But if Leeds can keep building, the crop coming through and staying at Elland Road will inevitably become smaller and smaller.