Leeds United's exciting future boosted by Gnonto, Gray and Joseph developments: View | OneFootball

Given Leeds United's vast financial resources, there was always likely to be something of an "aggressive" approach to the club building their squad in the hope of making their latest EFL stint a brief one.

However, whilst they operated well in the market, there are a number of young players on Leeds' books who have come through their academy set-up, who would have been hoping for more chances this season in the Championship than they were able to get in the top-flight.

Famously, Leeds have tended to afford their young players opportunities, from Archie Gray this season, to the likes of James Milner and Jonathan Woodgate in the not too distant past. With development minutes much easier to come by for players like Gray this term.

The Leeds academy is famed for producing talent, including the likes of Pascal Struijk and Crysencio Summerville, who have become key players for the side in the last few years. Relegation was a tough pill to swallow for the Whites at the end of last season, but the overall reset that followed has benefitted many aspects of the club, and not least the opportunity that has presented itself to players like Gray.

Leeds have future proofed their squad very well for this season and beyond, and Transfermarkt has them fifth in terms of the average age of the squad in the division, with Daniel Farke more than happy to afford them with chances and game time this season.

Most of the Leeds squad were given a break of 12 days after the win over Millwall prior to the international break. However, plenty of the players who impressed this year have been young players, with many called up to international duty over the course of the last week or so.

It highlights how bright Leeds' future is beyond this season, somewhat irrespective of what happens in the race for promotion.

Italy U-21s - Willy Gnonto

Gnonto has featured for Leeds' U-21 side, albeit he is not a player they developed for long in their academy set up. However, the 20-year-old already has 13 senior caps to his name after breaking into the Italy side at the tender age of 18 while at FC Zürich, and becoming their youngest ever goalscorer in the process when he notched against Germany in one of his first games.

His U-21 inclusion during the recent break mirrors what he has been doing for the last two international breaks, though. His side faced Latvia and Turkey and captained the side against Latvia as a more central attacking player than the one Leeds have had this season.

He collected an assist in the clash against Turkey, whilst impressing more in his all-round display against Latvia. Not only does it exemplify further to Farke the enormous talent Gnonto has, but also his positional versatility, with an attacking-midfield position perhaps suiting a player of Gnonto's talents and skillset.

England U-21s - Archie Gray

Gray's rapid development earnt him his first 21s team call up, not long after he made the step up to the U-20 team last year. Azerbaijan and Luxembourg were the first tests for Gray in EURO U-21 qualifying for the recent champions of the competition last year, and the squad Lee Carsley selected was full of young Premier League stars, too.

His quality performances at such a tender age have been impressive, especially as Gray has operated as either a right-back or central-midfielder, but he had to start the first game from the bench. He scored just minutes after coming on for his debut, with one of his first touches of the match.

Gray's exploits this season are well-documented, but his dream start to life at U-21 level continued when he provided an assist against Luxembourg, having started the game and featuring for 61 minutes in total. Alongside numerous top-flight stars, he more than held his own and showcased his ability.

Spain U-21s - Mateo Joseph

Another big success story for Leeds this season has been the breakthrough of Joseph, who has made a major career decision by snubbing England's U-20 team to link up with Spain's U-21 side. Their EURO U-21 qualifying campaign saw them face Belgium, where Joseph was looking to continue his good recent form and trajectory by making himself the first-choice for the 21s team.

Spain's lack of forward options in recent years perhaps explained Joseph's decision to switch allegiances, but it appears he made the right decision with a fantastic start to life for the Spanish youth outfit. The 20-year-old came off the bench with just minutes to go and scored the only goal of the game in the 88th minute to seal a crucial win on his debut.

He scored his first professional goals for Leeds in a huge game against Chelsea in the FA Cup, and seems to have a habit of coming up with big moments in even bigger games. It's something that will be sure to please the club, as his development has been extremely promising this season.

With all three players, the future is bright for .