Leeds complete out-of-window signing of lightning-quick Man Utd attacker as rare raid is finalised
Leeds United have agreed a deal to sign Thailand youth international Silva Mexes from Manchester United, with the 16-year-old agreeing to a two-year scholarship contract at Elland Road.
The teenager has opted to make the move away from Old Trafford and join the Whites in what is a rare trans-Pennine transfer, with Mexes quitting Manchester United just two years after he arrived from Ipswich Town in summer 2024.
Mexes, who has been capped by Thailand’s Under-17s, is the son of former Wales international Robert Earnshaw, and has opted to represent Thailand through his mother’s heritage.
A left-winger by trade, Mexes has clocked an impressive 11.1-second personal best over 100 metres, with his athletic profile and rapid pace a major issue for opposing defenders.
Signing a two-year deal with the Whites, Mexes will join the Whites’ scholarship academy and hope to emerge as a player of real talent in the future.
While joining Leeds will hopefully be another step towards a successful career as a professional footballer, he will need to adapt to his new surroundings, with Whites boss Daniel Farke having programmed the club’s youth team coaches to mould a side in his image and ensure any player good enough to make the breakthrough will be first-team ready.
And from a winger’s point of view, that will also require the ability to track back and be tactically flexible, with Farke currently preferring a 3-4-2-1 formation that has utilised wing-backs and made his side a tough team to beat.
Leeds, who currently sit ninth in the Premier League, have yet to lose a game this season, racking up one win and two draws.
Leeds hope to have unearthed future diamond
Leeds, though, will need to take their time with Mexes, who will join their Under-16s with the hope of progressing to their Under-18s set-up and then their U21s before being considered as a first-team option.
Nonetheless, they will hope his signing proves a solid investment, and he ultimately develops into a first-team asset. With a similar stature and profile to Daniel James, who also joined Leeds from Man Utd, they will keep a close eye on his progress in the hope they have unearthed a future diamond.
For now, Leeds know that Mexes is a long way from the finished article.
The Whites also brought in another left winger on the last day of the transfer window after signing the Bundesliga’s fastest-ever player in Jean-Matteo Bahoya.
The Frenchman, 21, who has joined on a season’s loan from Eintracht Frankfurt with a view to a permanent €30m (£26m) move, was an unused substitute at the weekend as Leeds claimed a 1-1 draw at Brighton.
Fans could get their first glimpse of him in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup third-round trip to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, with Farke describing his signing as a “smart piece of business”.
“I have to say I don’t like a deadline-day transfer. I don’t think it’s a good moment to make (big) signings,” Farke said.
“Because sometimes it’s really like crazy signings without preparing, and you don’t know about the player and haven’t spoken (a lot) about him.
“But for Jean-Matteo, it was not the case. He was on our list before, and we watched him a few weeks ago.
“It’s also no secret that I spoke through my connection with the sporting director of Eintracht Frankfurt about him and his character.
“I mentioned initially that it’s no secret that we tried, perhaps in the beginning, to go for a bit more experienced player who had already delivered on the top level and perhaps at the Premier level. But in the end, if it was not to be, then we also decided to go for this plan.
“This is also a good plan, and let’s see.
“It’s also a good piece of business because it’s a loan, and if it develops in the right direction, we then also have the chance, more or less, to make it permanent. I think it’s a very smart piece of business, especially for deadline day.”
