Leeds United boss Neil Redfearn admits that he could well have brought young forward Lewis Walters on against Watford today, feeling the starlet good enough to compete at Championship level.
Walters was named on the bench at Elland Road and saw Leeds quickly race into a 2-0 lead over the Hornets, with goals from Billy Sharp and Rudy Austin.
Watford though pegged it back to 2-1 by half-time through Troy Deeney, before then scoring twice in the second half to run out 3-2 winners, Matej Vydra doing the damage.
As the game slipped out of reach Redfearn turned to Adryan, Mirco Antenucci and Edgar Cani off the bench.
But he admits he could well have selected Walters, something which bodes well for the youngster's future at Leeds.
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"We had Lewis Walters on the bench today and he could have come on as one of the three subs", he told LUTV.
"He is at that level now. There's one or two [of our youngsters] that could come in.
"But you want to give them the best opportunity and if you put too many in together it's not the ideal chance for them", the 49-year-old added.
Walters will now be hoping to be involved against Ipswich Town on Wednesday night, when Leeds host Mick McCarthy's men at Elland Road.
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