As the old adage goes: if you’re good enough, you’re old enough. Leeds United have certainly held true to that belief over the years, bringing players through and handing them debuts at a young age.
Record goalscorer Peter Lorimer, who sadly passed away earlier this year, made his Leeds debut at the age of 15 years, 289 days, which is still a club record!
Leeds have continued that tradition in the Premier League, and a couple of their youngsters even made history after they were handed remarkably early debuts for the Whites back in the early 2000s.
So read on below as SBOTOP takes you back in time with a look at the youngest players in Leeds United history to play in the Premier League era.
3. Rob Bowman
Leeds United have won the FA Youth Cup just twice in their history. The first of their two triumphs came in 1993, when they defeated a Manchester United side that featured David Beckham, Paul Scholes, and the Neville Brothers in the final.
Defender Rob Bowman started both legs of that final in May 1993. And just three months prior, he had already made his debut for Leeds’ senior team in the Premier League against Wimbledon at the tender age of just 17 years and 77 days.
Unfortunately, though, that would prove to be the first of Bowman’s seven total senior appearances for the Whites over four seasons.
Bowman was also a part of the England U-18 team which won the European U-18 Championship in 1993, but he would go on to have a rather unspectacular professional career after departing Elland Road. He eventually moved on to Rotherham United in 1997 before joining Carlisle United later that same year. He last played for Irish club Bohemians in 2001, making three appearances.
2. James Milner
Nearly a decade passed before any Leeds player would beat Bowman’s mark. It came on November 2002, when a young lad by the name of James Milner came on as a substitute against West Ham United. At 16 years, 309 days, Milner also became the second-youngest player ever to play in the Premier League.
And just over a month later, Milner would make more history as he scored his first goal for Leeds on Boxing Day in a 2-1 win over Sunderland. That goal gave him the title of the youngest player ever to score in the Premier League at 16 years and 356 days, edging out Wayne Rooney by four days.
Milner’s record was eventually broken in 2005 by Everton’s James Vaughan, who still holds the record to this day.
Milner spent just two seasons with Leeds, but he made 54 appearances and scored five goals before moving on to Newcastle. He has gone on to have a terrific albeit underrated career, winning the Premier League three times (two with Manchester City and one with Liverpool), the FA Cup, and the 2019 Champions League.
And he’s still playing despite making his Leeds debut almost two decades ago! He remains a key player for Liverpool, who are among the favourites according to the Premier League 2021 odds to win the title.
While he is no longer as spry as he was in his Leeds days, you can be sure Milner will still contribute his share of Premier League 2021 highlights throughout the campaign.
1. Aaron Lennon
Milner’s reign as Leeds’ youngest player only lasted less than year, though, as team-mate Aaron Lennon came on against Tottenham in August 2003 at age 16 years and 129 days.
Not only did Lennon break Milner’s club record – which he still holds to this day – but he also set a new Premier League record for the youngest player to appear in a match, breaking Gary McSheffrey’s record of 16 years and 198 days.
Lennon had been one of the hottest young properties in English football for a couple of years. The speedy winger even had his boots sponsored at the ripe old age of 14.
Lennon would make 11 appearances for Leeds that 2003-04 season, which was their last in the Premier League prior to the 2020-21 season. He would make 38 total appearances over two seasons for Leeds, scoring just one goal.
Leeds eventually sold Lennon to Tottenham in 2005, and he would spend 10 years with Spurs, making 266 appearances and scoring 26 goals. He’s also had stints with Everton and Burnley in the Premier League and was capped 21 times by England. The now-34-year-old Lennon played last season in Turkey with Kayserispor.
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