Where are they now? Leeds United’s 3 wonderkids from Football Manager 2015

Leeds United’s Lewis Cook in action against Wigan Athletic, during the Sky Bet Championship match at the DW Stadium, Wigan.

Leeds United fans don’t have many fond memories around the release time of Football Manager 2015 back in November 2014, but there were a crop of talented academy products emerging to give hope for the future.

Unfortunately, those youngsters came through at a chaotic time, with Massimo Cellino as chairman and coaches Dave Hockaday and Darko Milanic both sacked by the time FM15 even hit the shelves.

We’ve checked in on the three talented youngsters judged as ‘wonderkids’ (via FMScout) and checked in, 10 years later, to see what’s become of them.

Sam Byram

Nothing will make Leeds fans feel old quite like Byram now being an experienced elder statesman, helping guide through Daniel Farke’s young squad, but it makes perfect sense given he was there himself.

“One of the guys asked me ‘What’s different to the last time you were here?’ The club had been through a bit of a tough patch when I was previously here,” the full-back told i News following his surprise return last summer.

“To come back and see how together the city is, to see the atmosphere at home games and the travelling fans, it’s something that’s really taken me by surprise.”

Leeds might once again be back in the second tier, but the club are unrecognisable to the one of regular midtable mediocrity that Byram left back in 2016. They’re now competing at the top and look well-placed to return to the Premier League.

On the one hand, Byram hasn’t quite fulfilled the regular top-flight potential that appeared his destiny when he signed for West Ham. He only intermittently appeared in the Premier League amid regular injury struggles with the Hammers and Farke’s Norwich.

But while you might suggest a back-up squad rotation back at his boyhood club is underwhelming, it’s also considerably better than it might’ve been given how his injury issues threatened to derail his career completely.

Byram appears happy at Elland Road, embracing his role, while his manager and the fans are equally pleased.

Lewis Cook

The York-born midfielder was widely regarded as the club’s most technically gifted academy graduate in a generation, so it was no major surprise that he swiftly moved on after two just seasons in the first team.

Cook’s ascent continued after joining Bournemouth, captaining England’s Under-20s to the World Cup in 2017 before a senior debut the following year, as well as a place in Gareth Southgate’s standby squad for Russia 2018.

Unfortunately, his progress was subsequently stunted by multiple anterior cruciate ligament injuries and no second cap has been forthcoming.

But he appears to have put those injury issues behind him and is now playing arguably the best football of his career as a key cog for Andoni Iraola’s all-action Cherries. England could do worse than giving him another look – one for Thomas Tuchel to consider.

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Alex Mowatt

After making over a hundred Championship appearances for his boyhood Peacocks, Mowatt dropped down a level in January 2017. He signed for League One Barnsley and has really kicked on from there.

The midfielder played an integral role in Barnsley’s promotion to the second tier in 2019 and was subsequently named their Player of the Season when they stayed up.

He’s since moved on to West Brom and has established himself as a dependable Championship footballer. One day reaching the Premier League isn’t beyond the realms of possibility, given that Carlos Corberan’s Baggies once again look a decent bet for the play-offs.