While there have been turbulent times at Leeds United in the modern era, one constant amid the chaos has been the club’s impressive production of young talent, having continually churned out promising gems at Elland Road.
Whether it be the likes of Alan Smith and James Milner, or Kalvin Phillips and Archie Gray, the Yorkshire giants have become masters at nurturing and developing potential stars of the future, boasting an academy set-up that most would be envious of.
The only downside to that conveyor belt of talent is that not all of those emerging stars go on to blossom with the Whites, with former England international, Danny Rose, for instance, one example of an academy graduate who was arguably sold on too soon – and too cheaply – by the club.
How much did Leeds sell Danny Rose for?
The Doncaster-born gem had risen up through the ranks at Leeds and looked set to force his way into the first-team reckoning at Elland Road, notably being named on the bench for a League Cup clash with Barnet at the start of the 2006/07 campaign.
Having turned down advances from Chelsea in 2005 amid the promise of earning his debut for the Whites, Rose would ultimately fail to make a single appearance for the club prior to his eventual departure in 2007, seemingly suffering from the sacking of Kevin Blackwell:
“Had Kevin Blackwell stayed 100 per cent I would have played for Leeds, but he lost his job in September or October. Then Dennis Wise came and it was a little bit different. In the end I just decided to leave. I wasn’t enjoying it.
With Leeds – who were embroiled in financial struggles at the time – slipping into League One at the end of the season, the teenager opted to finally make the move to London in order to join Tottenham Hotspur, with the Lilywhites forking out what proved to be a bargain fee of just £1m.
Where is Danny Rose now?
A Premier League debut thunderbolt against rivals Arsenal set the tone for what was to prove a largely stellar stint at N17 for the midfielder-turned-full-back, as he established himself as a real “hero” at Spurs, in the words of writer Ryan Rosenblatt.
With Leeds continuing to ply their trade in the EFL until 2020, Rose, meanwhile, went on to eventually become a regular fixture for the north Londoners after enjoying a handful of spells out on loan initially, racking up 213 appearances in all competitions for the club.
The attack-minded menace – who contributed 38 goals and assists in that time from left-back – was notably part of the side that reached the Champions League final under Mauricio Pochettino in 2019, having also made 29 appearances for his country at senior level.
At his pomp, the 5 foot 8 ace was even mooted for a £50m switch to rivals Manchester United in 2017, with that a stark indication of the quality of player that the Elland Road outfit had let slip from their grasp.
