After progressing through the Leeds United academy, striker Ben Andreucci has made the switch to Bolton Wanderers on a two-year-deal with an option to extend by a further year.
The club announced on 7 June that they had completed the signing of the Scotland Under-19 international after fending off competition from Championship clubs to land Andreucci and offer him his first professional contract. The striker will now link up with Bolton’s B team squad ahead of the new season
Having progressed through Leeds United’s academy, Andreucci has featured predominantly in the Under-18 Premier League as well as in Premier League two action.
The 18-year-old scored nine times last season, netting seven goals in his 12 appearances in the U18 Premier League and grabbing two in the FA Youth Cup, as per transfermrkt. The season prior, Andreucci hit double figures, scoring 10 goals in 19 U18 Premier League matches.
“I’m buzzing to be here, this is everything that I have worked for and to sign with such a big club makes me excited to see what the future holds,” Andreucci said to the official Bolton club website (7 June).
The right decision?
As is the case with many youth players, only time will tell whether Leeds made the right choice to let their young striker go. Despite posting positive numbers at academy level, the Whites had not yet handed Andreucci a professional contract and based on that fact clearly had some reservations about the player.
I am sure many Leeds fans will wish the player the best for the future, as it is always positive to see an academy prospect thrive as it is a testament to the club’s development system, however, if he does kick on at Bolton, some fans may question why he was not handed that chance in a Leeds shirt.
For Andreucci the move makes sense, as it provides the young striker the opportunity to show what he can do at a lower level while being handed his first professional deal in the game.
His numbers at academy level were positive, now it is time to see if he can make the step up.
