Leeds United sign highly rated teenager

The 17-year-old youth international has signed a two-year contract after joining from Glenavon.

McDaid, who scored twice for Glenavon in a recent 4-2 win over Portadown, impressed and netted twice for a Leeds United’s under 17s side in a trial game against Sheffield Wednesday game last month.

United’s senior professional development coach Neil Redfearn said: “He’s a great signing for us. It’s a real coup given the interest in him from a lot of clubs.

“He’s done really well for Glenavon, and because he has been playing senior football for a while, he’s already got that experience, and the transition should be easy to cope with.

“He is a player who knows his position, he runs the channels well, and the most important thing as a striker is that he knows where the back of the net is.”

Robbie has represented both Northern Ireland and his league side, and was attracting interest from a number of English clubs.

Leeds United managing director David Haigh said: “We’re delighted to bring Robbie into the club.

“There were a number of clubs interested in him and it’s a credit to everyone here that he’s agreed to join us on a two-year contract.

“We always speak about the importance of developing and recruiting young players, and Robbie is a player our coaches are excited about working with.”

As part of the deal, Leeds will play a friendly against Glenavon this summer.