Leeds United chairman Andrea Radrizzani has admitted that the club have made him proud once again by managing to secure Category One status for their academy.
Following an audit that was carried out earlier this year, the Premier League has now deemed Leeds to have a Category One academy, which is the highest rating possible under the league's EPPP.
Radrizzani admits he is hugely proud of the staff at Leeds for managing to help push the academy up to Category One status and tipped his hat to Adam Underwood.
“The level of work delivered by Adam Underwood and all of his staff is exceptional and I am incredibly proud of our club, once again", Radrizzani told his club's official site.
“My ambition was to create a legacy at Leeds United when I bought the club and alongside my management team, we have been able to achieve our goal for the Academy quicker than we expected."
The Leeds supremo admits he knows how crucial seeing homegrown players in the Whites first team is to the club's fans and feels that the new status will make sure that more talents can be produced and pushed into the senior side.
“I know how important Academy graduates are to Leeds United supporters.
"For decades we have brought through the likes of Paul Madeley, David Batty, Gary Speed, James Milner and of course Kalvin Phillips, just to name a few.
“Today’s announcement will help to ensure we can produce even more quality Academy players that we can all be proud of.”
As a result of the category improvement, Leeds Under-23s will play in the Premier League 2 next season, while the Under-18s at the club will slot into the Premier League North division.
