Former £7 Million Middlesbrough player Joins Championship Rivals

Former Middlesbrough and Sunderland star Stewart Downing has been appointed as the new U21s assistant coach at Leeds United, the club have officially confirmed.

The Peacocks announced early on Saturday morning that Scott Gardner would be the permanent manager of the youth side, having acted as caretaker boss ever since his predecessor Michael Skubala left back in November to take up the vacant position as head coach of Lincoln City in League One.

After taking over Leeds’ U18 team at Thorp Arch after Skubala was lost, Gardner stepped up to become the U21 team’s permanent manager. After nine games, the U21s are currently ranked 18th in Premier League 2.

The team also disclosed that Chris Elliott and Michael Pudjak have joined Gardner’s backroom staff, and former England international Downing has been named assistant coach.

After spending two seasons with Blackburn Rovers, Downing hung up his boots in 2021. He then became a development coach at Middlesbrough, where he spent a total of 12 seasons over two spells as a player, making 404 appearances across all competitions.

Downing returned to the Riverside Stadium back in 2015, joining from West Ham United for a reported £7 million and played a part in helping the side reach promotion to the Premier League under former manager Aitor Karanka in 2016.

However, the 39-year-old has now jumped ship and moved down south in Yorkshire to Leeds United where he will be for the foreseeable future.

Writer’s View

Gardner was the obvious choice for Leeds to appoint as the new U21s permanent head coach, although it’s peculiar that the decision was made more than two months after Skubala left the club to move to Sincil Bank.

Nevertheless, with plenty of experience in the side’s youth setup, Gardner has added some real quality to his backroom staff, particularly with Downing as the players can certainly learn a lot from someone who played at the very highest level for club and country.

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