One year ago it emerged Leeds United had come to an arrangement with Spanish side Cultural Leonesa. As reported by The Sun (03/07/2017, page 59) Leeds were ready to use Cultural as a feeder club going forward.
The arrangement came via Leeds new affiliation with Ivan Bravo. The man in charge of the Aspire Academy in Qatar had joined the board of directors in April. Aspire own Cultural, as well as Belgian side KAS Eupen.
The move would hopefully see talented fringe players at Leeds battle it out in Spain’s second tier and young Spanish prodigies head to Elland Road.
But one year on, the move has not been a resounding success.
Firstly, there is the fact Cultural will not be playing in Spain’s second-tier next season. They finished 19th last season and were therefore relegated to Spain’s third rung on the ladder.
That is a huge blow to the development of the players in Spain, who will now be playing lesser rivals.
Then there is the case of Yosuke Ideguchi. When signed from Gamba Osaka in January Leeds decided the Japan international was best of heading to Spain on loan.
However, he hardly played and ended up missing out on a place in Japan’s impressive World Cup squad.
The partnership with Aspire has been great. Leeds’ youngsters took part in a tournament in Qatar last season which was well received at the club.
But the one with the Spanish side will hopefully be more beneficial over the next 12 months.