Who is Jayden Lienou? The 'high potential' Leeds United youngster eyeing Wales debut vs Romania
Leeds United Under-21s prospect Jayden Lienou could make his senior international debut this evening.
Leeds United’s Welsh first-team group could grow tonight if Jayden Lienou makes his international debut. The 18-year-old will hope to feature when Craig Bellamy’s side face Romania in a summer friendly.
Wales failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup with two June meetings against Ghana and Romania allowing head coach Craig Bellamy a chance to plan for the future. Karl Darlow, Joe Rodon, Ethan Ampadu and Daniel James all featured against Ghana while Lienou watched from the bench.
A debut tonight would make Lienou the sixth Leeds player to feature under Bellamy, alongside the above quartet and young midfielder Charlie Crew. Below is everything you need to know about the promising Welshman.
Who is Jayden Lienou?
Lienou has been with Leeds for just one season so far, having signed a three-year deal in the summer from Manchester City. He was part of City’s Under-18 Premier League-winning team after starting his youth career at Everton.
The full-back has made an instant impact with the Under-23s, with 19 Premier League 2 appearances yielding one assist and plenty of eye-catching passes. He’s also featured regularly across the National League Cup and EFL trophy while rising through the youth ranks with Wales, registering 23 caps across various age groups.
The 18-year-old earned himself a place in two of Leeds’ final three Premier League matchday squads last season, taking to the bench for meetings with Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton. Those opportunities came at a time where other full-backs such as Gabriel Gudmundsson and Jayden Bogle were injured.
What has Craig Bellamy said about Jayden Lienou?
Speaking last week, Bellamy said: "I've watched him a little bit with Leeds Under-21s and he's done very well in the younger setups for Wales, but he's definitely a player we like. So if a space sort of creeps up, what are we wasting time for? Let's get him in. We believe this boy's got a real great chance.
“Now, of course, there has to be other progressions to his game to be able to allow him to become a top, top player for Wales, but what we've seen already in his development - and that's from Leeds, not from us - we see a player with real high potential that could have a huge impact in an area that's going to be really important for us.
“When I saw the kid, I was like, ‘Wow, this kid’s top. But the reports I had before that gave me an opportunity to get excited about the kid, and when I saw him I was completely impressed. He's been training with the Leeds first-team as well, so definitely monitoring him.
“He’s mobile, not just from a full-back area, can move into the six, can move into the pockets, can go high and wide, got a good art of defending, physically exceptional. Loads and loads of improvements to be made, which all 17/18-year-old kids have to make, but at this present moment Leeds are doing an incredible job with him. It's a lot to be excited about for me personally.”
What else has been said about Jayden Lienou?
Before Bellamy sat down for his midweek press conference, Leeds winger James took questions on multiple subjects including Lienou. The 28-year-old said of his teenage teammate: “He's been brilliant this season. He’s been training with us a lot so a lot of these [in the Wales squad] have been training against him. He's a great lad.
“I think it'll be great for him this week to experience it, but it always helps to have a few familiar faces coming into camp too. I think he thoroughly deserves it. He's been great since he's been here and been great at Leeds. He’s definitely one for the future, a great player.”