This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
Jordan Stevens put pen to paper on a new contract at Leeds this week, being handed a deal that looks set to tie him down at Elland Road until 2022. Given what’s gone before this season, it’s a colossal show of faith from Victor Orta and the club’s head honchos.
The 19-year-old was found guilty of breaching betting rules earlier this campaign, something that left Managing Director Angus Kinnear furious.
Speaking to the Talking Shutt Podcast back in September he said: “Jordan was an idiot and he said he’s been an idiot, he admits it. It was stupid, there is no excuse for it. We have education which explains exactly what the rules are.”
Those were damning words from Kinnear but despite his anger, there was also huge support for the player. Leeds explained that he was anxious and homesick following a move from Forest Green in 2018 but that didn’t seem to matter to the FA.
The governing body slapped the teenager with a six-week ban from all football-related activity. He was barely even allowed to take part in charity work with the club’s foundation.
In fact, the ban was so strict that even helping out in a PE lesson would have broken his suspension.
Speaking about the punishment, Kinnear added: “As we stated publicly, we strongly believed that a sanction of banning a young player from both the training ground and the stadium went against our collective duty of care for a young professional.”
Leeds’ support of Stevens throughout this process was admirable but now back playing football, he’s been shown the ultimate show of trust with a new contract.
It would have been easy for the Whites to cast the young midfielder aside after his betting breach but instead, they’ve given him extra guidance – a testament to what goes on behind the scenes. However, that doesn’t mean that Stevens doesn’t still have a huge amount of work to do.
He earned his first-team debut last term against Stoke but hasn’t been seen in Marcelo Bielsa’s plans at all this season. For Carlos Corberan’s U23 side, he’s scored twice in seven appearances but his displays clearly haven’t done enough to earn a substantial role in the first team.
While out of the side, he had to watch the likes of Mateusz Bogusz, Alfie McCalmont and Jamie Shackleton earn first-team minutes. Even Robbie Gotts appeared on the bench.
Stevens may have signed a new deal but that is a long list of young players that he needs to surpass in order to prove himself further to Leeds.
After being given renewed terms, the ball is now firmly in the teenager’s court.
In other news, check out what Kemar Roofe has been saying about his spell at Leeds…