After becoming the third Leeds United Academy player to sign a first professional contract with the club this summer, defender Luke Matykiewicz is hoping to kick on and establish himself in the Under-21s starting XI.

The 18-year-old centre-half made eight appearances for Scott Gardner’s side towards the end of last term and is delighted that form was recognised with a new deal.

“I am buzzing about it. I have worked pretty much since the age of four to get to this point, so to finally get a professional contract signed, especially for a club like Leeds, is a great achievement for me.

“I want to thank my family for that as well, getting me to training and matches. I joined in the U14s but I had been in and around development centres and the shadow squads from the age of nine.

“That makes it mean even more to me because I have seen what it is like for them, like the kids in the development centres, so to get the contract is really good.”

Reflecting on the parts of his game he believes has improved across the previous seasons, Matykiewicz added: “I would say that the defending side. I feel like in the U18s I was pretty solid defensively but then when you get into the U21s, the opposition gets a lot better.

“I kind of had to re-find my feet and then, obviously, through that get better at defending again. I found a new level, I guess. Obviously, I want to become one of the main players in the U21s, consistently playing week in, week out.”

Capped by Northern Ireland at U19 level, Luke believes exposure to high-level opposition on the international stage has benefited his development.

“That was a very different experience to what I thought it would be. I thought it would be like academy football but it is not. They play much more like a men’s team, as they would say.

“So, it is like getting to know different players from all sorts of different clubs and playing with people that you don’t train with that often. It was a good experience.

“The opposition was also high-quality because it is international football so I feel like just adapting to that scenario was quite a good experience.”