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Leeds United look set to lose another promising academy star to top-level Premier League opposition.
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Promising Leeds United academy talent Oliver Boast is reportedly set to join Tottenham Hotspur this summer, following the agreement of a compensation fee between both clubs.
The Athletic report that Boast has decided to continue his early development down in north London, having caught the eye of Spurs while coming through Leeds’ academy. The young striker, who only turned 16 last month, made debuts for the Whites Under-18s and Under-21s last season, first turning out for the latter in April while he was still only 15 years old.
Due to the striker’s age, Leeds will be due a fee as compensation for the time and resources they’ve put into developing their academy prospect. The exact fee is either determined by the two clubs or sent to a tribunal, with the former option taken and, as per the Athletic report, a seven-figure sum agreed.
Boast is an England Under-16 international but despite his immense promise, the Athletic suggest a clear path into the first-team is essentially blocked by Harry Gray. Despite being just seven months older, the brother of Spurs midfielder Archie Gray - who left Leeds in a £40million deal last summer - got his first-team debut at Plymouth Argyle in May and is expected to enjoy more senior exposure next season.
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Gray is considered one of England’s most promising young strikers and is certainly the latest academy star to break through at Leeds, with Boast seemingly deciding to move elsewhere. He is described as a ‘prized academy asset’ and becomes the latest highly-rated youngster to leave Thorp Arch for a big-money compensation fee.
Boast the latest Leeds United academy prospect to move on
Leeds most notably lost promising midfielder Finlay Gorman to Manchester City last season, with the 15-year-old keen to challenge himself within one of the country’s most prestigious academy setups. Like Boast, he was also an England Under-16 international and had impressed at Under-18 level with his club.
Gorman and his parents visited City’s state-of-the-art Etihad Campus and were evidently convinced a move to Manchester would be best for his career development. He joined up with the Under-18s and has registered an impressive eight goals and nine assists in 21 U18 Premier League appearances.
Manchester City are believed to have paid an initial £1.5million for Gorman, a British record for any 15-year-old, while the Athletic reported at the time possible long-term add-ons could take that deal to £5m. It is unclear exactly how much Leeds will receive - or could land in the future - as a result of Boast’s exit but another seven-figure fee for someone so young is evidence of the great academy work going on at Thorp Arch.
Boast and Gorman never came close to the first-team set up at Leeds but both Archie and Harry Gray continued their family legacy in West Yorkshire, with the latter expected to keep improving as a teenager with his boyhood club. Archie became one of the club’s biggest sales last summer when he joined Spurs for £40m, with only Raphinha and fellow academy graduate Kalvin Phillips leaving for more.