Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa says Liam McCarron is pushing for a Premier League debut.
Versatile left-sided player McCarron, who this week signed a new two-year deal, was an unused substitute in the recent Premier League games against Burnley and Newcastle.
Bielsa said of the 20-year-old: “As time goes by, at the age that McCarron is, it gets him closer or further away from the competitive level of the players at the club.
“He's had one year where he's had close contact with the first team and he's shortened the distance to be able to compare himself with the other players.
“The group has 18 players. There are 15 or 16 players who respond to the profile that I use to pick (the side). McCarron for example.
“What I can't do is feed the plans around the young players. When we have to use them, there is an argument that first-team players are missing."