It's easy to forget West Brom player was once Leeds United 9-goal hero: View | OneFootball

It’s safe to say the Leeds United of a decade ago is a very different entity to the side we see at Elland Road in the current day.

Having managed to get themselves back into the Championship after three seasons in the third tier, the Whites were looking below them more often than above in the campaigns that followed, with lower half finishes the norm.

The 2014/15 marked a change in the waters in Yorkshire, with Ross McCormack setting sail for Fulham after a 29-goal haul the season before, leaving a hole in the attacking line that barely got filled.

We’re talking David Hockaday, Darko Milanic, Neil Redfearn, and a year of unrest at the club that saw them flirt with relegation back to League One, but amid all that a local lad rose to prominence to help his side to safety.

Alex Mowatt was shining light in frantic Leeds United's 2013/14 campaign

Alex Mowatt was thrown into the deep end at Leeds United, with the then 18-year-old given his debut in a 3-1 victory over hometown club Doncaster Rovers in the League Cup, in the 2013/14 campaign, before going on to become a mainstay in the midfield for the Whites.

After a season of finding his feet - in which he netted his first EFL goal in a 5-1 demolition of Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Town - the teenager upped his game in his second season as a professional, with the sort of performances that belied his tender age.

The year finding his feet had done the academy graduate the world of good, and he hit the ground running in the following campaign, with the equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Birmingham City in the second match of the season a sign of things to come.

Despite managerial revolving door constantly in full flow at Elland Road, Mowatt proved himself to be a constant force on the field, with his homegrown talents helping to forge a bond between team and fans when off-field shenanigans persisted.

He was one of their own, and he was turning into a man before their very eyes, with commandeering performances week in, week out, emphasising his quality all over the pitch, and earning his side valuable points in the process.

The playmaker was gathering a reputation as a player with the eye for the spectacular; with his long-range brace against Charlton Athletic only burgeoning that reputation, as he stepped up when it mattered once again to earn his side a point.

Not only was he impressing with his goalscoring capabilities, but Mowatt’s vision and fearlessness in the final third had Leeds fans on the edge of their seat more often than not, as he played with a tenacity that the Elland Road faithful crave.

That’s not to say results were always going their way, with a run of two wins in 19 league games either side of Christmas seeing them getting a bit too close to the relegation zone for comfort.

Mowatt, like everyone in the side, suffered as the off-field histrionics continued, with Redfearn instated until the end of the campaign to mark the side’s third manager by the end of October.

But into the new year and fortunes started to change, and it was no surprise to see Leeds’ teenage talent as the fulcrum for everything that was going right once again; with back-to-back winning goals against Millwall and Middlesbrough earning six valuable points in the fight for survival.

That trend of match-defining strikes continued into March, with the opener in a 2-1 win against Ipswich Town backed up by the solitary goal in a 1-0 success over Wigan Athletic, and once again United were purring just when they needed it most.

As a local lad, Mowatt got it more than most, with his heart-on-sleeve performances immediately earning the respect of the Yorkshire onlookers, as he went about almost single-handedly rescuing the side from the drop.

Without his goals, Leeds would have had more on the line as the final weeks of the season approached, but the playmaker had got his work done early, and left Elland Road in fine fettle as the end of the campaign came around.

Only Mirco Antenucci found the back of the net on a more regular basis than Mowatt during that season, which goes some way to proving just how influential he was on the fortunes of the club.

Leeds United experience set Alex Mowatt up for stellar EFL career

Having not even reached 20 years of age, he had already played with the weight of Yorkshire on his shoulders, and come out the other side with a glowing reputation.

Two more years in white would follow before making the move to neighbours Barnsley, but the creative midfielder had already proven his worth to everyone of a Leeds United persuasion, with numerous season-defining moments.

Having come full circle with a move to West Bromwich Albion in 2021, the midfielder already has over 400 appearances under his belt, and has become a regular feature in the EFL for his battling displays and sparks of brilliance.

Leeds United know that all too well, and will never forget the season that their homegrown talent matured in front of their very eyes.