Leeds United starlet looks for loan deal

Leeds United development-squad captain Lewie Coyle is hopeful of securing a January loan move after missing out on the chance to join York City ahead of last week’s emergency deadline.

The talented defender – rated by Leeds as a future first-choice right-back – saw the prospect of a temporary switch to League Two fall through in the final days of the Football League’s window.

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United planned to offer Coyle, 20, his first chance of league football with York but opted to keep him after Swiss defender Gaetano Berardi incurred a two-match ban following his dismissal in a recent 1-0 defeat to Rotherham United.

Coyle, who recently received a new two-year deal from Leeds, attracted interest from the lower divisions after impressing with United’s Under-21s.

“I was quite looking forward to it,” Coyle said. “The manager (Steve Evans) spoke to me and it was all set.

“I thought it would have been good for me to play league football, get league games under my belt and come back and push for a place in the first team. But that’s football – it was on, it was off.

“It would have been nice to get out on loan. That would have been the next stage of my development. Depending on what goes on here, I think the plan will be to get me out in January.”

Coyle has not broken into United’s first team but he travelled with the club’s senior squad for their pre-season tour of Austria and Norway.

Evans had planned to use him in a friendly against Wycombe Wanderers last month but was prevented from doing so after Coyle picked up an untimely suspension in an Under-21s fixture.

The right-back position in Evans’ line-up has opened up recently with Berardi absent and Sam Byram out of the team amid on-going discussions about his dwindling contract.

Byram’s deal expires at the end of this season and Evans admitted over the weekend that the club’s failure to agree an extension with him was partly behind the 22-year-old’s omission from United’s side.

Leeds and Byram’s representatives are believed to have held fresh talks about his contract on Monday.

Coyle, meanwhike, is pushing to secure a senior debut at United and the youngster said: “That’s the aim, to play for Leeds United’s first team. That’s always been my aim.

“I feel like my chance is going to come. It’s just about being patient and not getting frustrated.”