Leeds United have brought through many talented young players through their academy system over the years and Archie Gray appears to be the latest starlet to make the breakthrough.
The 17-year-old whiz has started 29 of the club's 33 matches in the Championship so far this season, with the majority of those coming in an unnatural right-back role for the teenager.
Head coach Daniel Farke has placed his trust in the former U21s starlet and developed him into a regular first-team starter for the Whites in the second tier.
One player who once looked set for a promising career after breaking into the senior side at Elland Road was Alex Mowatt. However, the club opted to cash in on him before his value soared through the roof.
How much Leeds sold Alex Mowatt for
The Whites sold him to Barnsley in January 2017 for a reported fee of just £600k, after he had racked up over 100 appearances for the first-team.
Mowatt came through the academy system in Yorkshire and established himself as a regular during the 2013/14 campaign, through to the end of the 2015/16 season, with 29 or more Championship matches played in all three years.
However, the academy graduate only started four of his 15 league outings for the club during the first half of the 2016/17 campaign, which led to his move across Yorkshire to Barnsley at the start of 2017.
Mowatt later revealed to The Athletic that the transfer came as a "shock" to him. He also claimed that then-manager Garry Monk only saw him as a number ten, rather than as a number eight or defensive midfielder, and that is why his game time was limited in the months leading up to the switch.
Alex Mowatt's soaring market value
Leeds' loss was Barnsley's gain as the English maestro went on to produce 20 goals and 23 assists in 162 appearances in all competitions for the club.
In his last season with the Yorkshire-based outfit, Mowatt racked up eight goals, seven assists, and nine 'big chances' created in 44 matches as a central midfielder.
He found a way to influence games at the top end of the pitch from a number eight role, rather than being shoehorned in as an attacking midfielder, and that earned him a transfer to West Bromwich Albion on a free transfer in the summer of 2021.
By November 2021, Mowatt's value on Transfermarkt soared to a staggering €10m (£8.6m). That means that his value skyrocketed up by a whopping 1,333% from the initial £600k that Leeds sold him to Barnsley for.
Appearances
34
Goals
Four
Assists
Two
Tackles + interceptions per game
2.8
Duel success rate
56%
Sofascore rating
7.10
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, the Baggies dynamo combined attacking quality with defensive solidity, as he won the majority of his physical duels, to help his market value soar.
This suggests that Leeds had a blunder with the midfielder as they sold him far too early in his development, and could have made a greater profit on him by helping the gem to fulfill his potential at Elland Road and then selling him when his value peaked, albeit now with the benefit of hindsight.
In the present day, the 29-year-old gem has won 67% of his duels and provided four assists in 31 appearances for West Brom as they battle with Leeds to secure promotion to the Premier League.
Hopefully, the Whites are not left with similar regrets if they ever decide to part ways with current academy graduate Gray in a future transfer window.