Our Under-18s face Chelsea Elland Road tonight (7.05pm kick-off), in an FA Youth Cup tie that gives supporters a glimpse into the future and an idea of who could be next off Thorp Arch's seemingly endless conveyor belt of talent. Here, Ryan Parrish takes a look at some of those who have made the step up in recent years.

The Leeds United Academy’s biggest success story since the turn of the millennium is almost certainly that of James Milner. Now 28 with two Premier League titles, an FA Cup winner's medal and over 50 England caps to his name, the versatile midfielder’s achievements surpass those of any of his former Thorp Arch team-mates.

Having joined the Academy aged 10, Milner soon burst onto the scene, becoming the Premier League’s second youngest player at 16 years and 309 days as a substitute in November 2002’s 4-3 win at West Ham. He then went on to become the division’s youngest goalscorer at Sunderland on Boxing Day of the same year. Perhaps his finest moment in a white shirt came two days later, though, netting a sublime goal in the 2-0 win over Chelsea at Elland Road. Milner made a total of 54 appearances for the Whites before departing for Newcastle in July 2004.

Aaron Lennon’s ascent almost mirrored that of Milner, as the Chapeltown-born winger also had Boxing Day joy at Sunderland by netting his first goal for the club in 2004’s 3-2 win. Over a year earlier, Lennon had become the Premier League’s youngest player aged 16 years and 129 days as a substitute in August 2003’s 2-1 defeat away to his future club Tottenham. The now 27-year-old made the majority of his 43 United appearances in the Championship before moving to White Hart Lane in 2005, where he has since flourished and collected 21 England caps to date.

Another Thorp Arch graduate now proving his worth at Spurs is full-back Danny Rose. Rose never appeared for the Whites but his reputation as a youngster saw Martin Jol stump up a reported £1million to secure his services. It took Rose some time to establish himself in North London - with loan spells at Watford, Peterborough, Bristol City and Sunderland aiding his development - before becoming a regular fixture last season. A stalwart for the Under-21s, Rose is yet to make a senior appearance for England despite being called up for recent friendlies, but he represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics.

Fabian Delph was a team-mate of Rose’s at Thorp Arch and the pair, both now 24, have since shared the same training pitch at St George’s Park with England. Born in Bradford, Delph joined our academy in 2001 and made his first-team debut at Derby in 2007 after being made captain of the reserve side. But it was the 2008/09 campaign under Gary McAllister and then Simon Grayson that he truly made his mark, scoring six times in his 51 appearances on the way to the League One play-off semi-finals.

Delph’s sensational form was said to have attracted interest from a host of top-flight sides and he made a big-money switch to Aston Villa in summer 2009. Injuries have hampered his progression in recent years but, especially having impressed in his three caps for England, Delph has grown into the all-encompassing midfielder most United fans knew he would.

The trail for Milner, Lennon, Rose and Delph to prosper was blazed in the previous two decades by the likes of Garry Kelly,  Ian Harte, Harry Kewell, Jonathan Woodgate, Alan Smith, Paul Robinson, Stephen McPhail and Matthew Jones - who all progressed through the youth system and went on to represent the club at the highest level.  The Champions League semi-final squad in Valencia featured no fewer than nine players whose professional careers had began at the club, including David Batty in his second spell.

In more recent times, the Academy’s conveyor belt of talent has showed no signs of slowing and the last four seasons have seen at least one homegrown player make the step up to become a first-team regular. Tom Lees was the first in 2011/12, then Sam Byram the following year, Alex Mowatt last season and now Lewis Cook. Not to mention the likes of Dominic Poleon, Chris Dawson, Charlie Taylor and Alex Cairns, who have all been in and around the senior side, while Alex Purver and Kalvin Phillips have also been knocking on the door this year.

Former captain Jonny Howson and current wing-back Aidy White have both done the same, while the likes of Ben Parker, Frazer Richardson, Matthew Kilgallon, Andy Keogh, Simon Walton and Scott Carson have all gone on to enjoy careers elsewhere after cutting their teeth at United.

With Neil Redfearn now at the helm, the gap between Academy and first team is as short as ever. Three Thorp Arch graduates - Byram, Cook and Mowatt - started Saturday's impressive win over league leaders Derby County. In fact, the starting line-up at Elland Road boasted an average age of just 23.

You can get a glimspe of the future at Elland Road on Tuesday night and tickets for the cup tie are on sale at £5 for adults and £2.50 for concessions. They can be bought online by clicking here, in person in the Elland Road Superstore or by calling the Ticket Office on 0871 334 1992. Supporters are advised to purchase in advance to avoid large queues at the Ticket Office.

The game will also be shown live on LUTV – click here for details on how to watch it from 6.45pm, with kick-off at 7.05pm.