Leeds United have produced a host of fantastic academy players. David Batty helped Leeds win the First Division. James Milner made history at Elland Road before departing in 2004.
Leeds United have an incredible history of producing top-tier talent from the club's academy, and several of the players that have started their career at Elland Road have gone on to some of the elite levels of the beautiful game. Although United have not enjoyed the same success they had back in the early 2000s (finishing third in the 1999/2000 season), there are still fantastic talents still coming through the youth system of the Category 1 Academy. With that in mind, here are the top 10 players to ever come through the system, including Champions League and Premier League winners.
From Rio Ferdinand to Gordon Strachan, these are the greatest signings made by Leeds United. 10 Kalvin Phillips Kalvin Phillips is one of the modern-day heroes to come from the youth system at Leeds. Phillips was a big favourite at Elland Road, with the defensive midfielder earning 234 appearances and helping the club find their way back into the Premier League.
He would earn a move to Manchester City in July 2022 in a £43 million deal, where he played a small part in their treble win of the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League. Phillips also went on to secure a place in the England squad for both Euro 2020 and the World Cup in 2022, with Gareth Southgate being a big fan of the star. He is now at Ipswich on loan in the 2024/25 season.
Kalvin Phillips' Career Statistics Appearances 276 Goals 15 Assists 14 Biggest Transfer Fee To Manchester City: £43million (2022) Gareth Southgate claimed that England have not yet found a replacement for Phillips, sparking debate after drawing 1-1 to Denmark. 9 Paul Robinson Paul Robinson is another player who managed to have a successful career from the Leeds Academy all the way to representing England at the biggest international tournaments. Robinson would end up playing for Leeds, Blackburn Rovers, Tottenham and Burnley, earning a total of 88 Premier League Clean Sheets over 375 appearances.
Paul Robinson's Career Statistics Appearances 498 Clean Sheets 123 Biggest Transfer Fee To Blackburn Rovers: £3.5million (2008) Scoring from distance is one of footballs greatest joys. GIVEMESPORT ranks the longest-range Premier League goals in history.
8 Gary Kelly Gary Kelly graduated from the Leeds United academy and went on to have a sensational career for the Yorkshire club, earning 508 appearances for the club. The biggest match of his career was arguably featuring in the Champions League semi-final in 2001, where Leeds were beaten 3-0 by Valencia. Kelly was also a fixture for the Republic of Ireland national side, earning 52 caps and playing for his country at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan.
Gary Kelly's Career Statistics Appearances 508 Goals 4 Assists 17 Biggest Transfer Fee Never sold 7 Jack Charlton Jack Charlton is an English footballing legend, and he spent his entire club career with Leeds United from 1950 to 1973. Whilst he didn't play in what can be considered Leeds' current academy setup, it would seem wrong to not include someone his pedigree, with the one-club man of course having won the World Cup with England in 1966. Charlton would later go on to have several high-profile managerial roles with Middlesbrough, Sheffield Wednesday, Newcastle and finally the Republic of Ireland national team.
Jack Charlton's Career Statistics Appearances 577 Goals 74 Assists 1 Biggest Transfer Fee Never sold The former Leeds man honoured his brother in truly moving fashion 6 David Batty David Batty is another player who would go on to play for his boyhood club for a substantial tenure, earning 228 appearances for the club between 1987 and 1993, and between 1998 and 2004. In his first spell at the club, he won the last First Division title, playing 40 matches, before the Premier League rebranding. Batty would also play for Newcastle United and was part of the Blackburn Rovers side that won the Premier League title in the 1994/1995 season.
The midfielder also represented England on 42 occasions, featuring at both Euro 96 and World Cup 98 where he missed a penalty in the round of 16 against Argentina. David Batty's Career Statistics Appearances 435 Goals 8 Assists 21 Biggest Transfer Fee To Leeds: £5.7million (1999) 5 Jonathan Woodgate Jonathan Woodgate was one of the most talented players to come out of the Leeds academy, getting a big transfer to Real Madrid in 2004 to play alongside the likes of David Beckham , Zinedine Zidane , Roberto Carlos and Luis Figo.
Unfortunately, it did not quite work out in La Liga for him, but it is still a testament to just how good the centre-back was that the Galacticos added him to their ranks. Woodgate would play 139 games for Leeds, with his career also seeing him play for the likes of Stoke, Newcastle United, Tottenham and Middlesbrough. Jonathan Woodgate's Career Statistics Appearances 388 Goals 11 Assists 6 Biggest Transfer Fee To Real Madrid: £13.
4 million (2004) Jordan Henderson, Jonathan Woodgate and Michael Owen all feature as some of the British footballers who struggled abroad. 4 Harry Kewell Australian footballing legend Harry Kewell had a very successful career for Leeds, first joining the club as part of the 'Big Brother Movement' in Australia at 15 where he travelled to the UK with his future national side teammate Brett Emerton for a trial at Elland Road. Both would be successful during their trials with the club but only Kewell could take up the offer to remain due to visa requirements .
Kewell would play 236 times for Leeds during his senior career, scoring 61 goals and getting 28 assists. The Socceroos star would leave the club in 2003 to join Liverpool , where he would win the Champions League in 2005 and the FA Cup in 2006. Harry Kewell's Career Statistics Appearances 510 Goals 122 Assists 69 Biggest Transfer Fee to Liverpool for a reported £5 Million in 2003 3 Gary Speed The late Welsh footballing hero Gary Speed is one of the greatest to ever play for Leeds at Elland Road.
Having started with the Academy, Speed would go on to make 226 appearances at senior level, winning the First Division title in the 1991/1992 season followed by the Community Shield in the 1992/1993 season. Although remembered fondly by Leeds fans for his time at the club, he would get more on-field appearances for Newcastle, where he played 258 games, scoring 39 goals and getting 21 assists. Gary Speed's Career Statistics Appearances 774 Goals 117 Assists 51 Biggest Transfer Fee To Newcastle: £5.
5million (1998) Here are the 10 oldest Premier League goalscorers in the history of the league, including England international legends and more. 2 James Milner James Milner has had one of the most incredible careers of any player that came from the Leeds United Academy, earning over 800 games at club level. Milner would play for Leeds' senior squad 53 times, scoring five and assisting two.
However, it's what Milner has done since leaving the club that really draws the eye, with three Premier Leagues, a Champions League title, UEFA Super Cup, two FA Cups and two League Cups under his belt, he's more than done it at the top level. James Milner's Career Statistics Appearances 876 Goals 85 Assists 135 Biggest Transfer Fee To Manchester City: £26m (2010) Milner has played with so many great players during his time at Man City, Liverpool and England. He named his 'perfect XI' and it's incredible.
1 Dennis Irwin Despite there being some other fantastic players on this list, Dennis Irwin takes the top spot as the greatest Leeds United academy player of all time. Irwin is known far more for his time at Manchester United, where he won seven Premier League titles, one Champions League, three FA Cups, and a League Cup. In terms of left backs in the English game, Irwin stands near the top of the list of the best to ever play the game, so his seven appearances in a Leeds shirt are very much an afterthought at this point.
However, he did come from the Leeds Academy and is one of the very best. Dennis Irwin's Career Statistics Appearances 613 Goals 35 Assists 26 Biggest Transfer Fee To Manchester United: £650,000 (1990) Denis Irwin was a stalwart for Manchester United during the 1990s and played alongside some brilliant teammates. Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt.
Correct as of 27.07.24.
