Charlie Crew opens up on 'very hard' Leeds United transfer decision
Charlie Crew has opened up on the “very hard” decision he made to swap Cardiff City for Leeds United.
The Wales Under-21s international left Cardiff in August 2022 and signed a two-year scholarship deal at Elland Road.
CHARLIE CREW:
"Moving away from family, moving to a club where you don't know anyone, you have to mature pretty quickly, so I think it's definitely helped," he said of having to grow up quickly. "And it's helped me moving up age groups, it's helped me integrate a lot better and settle in more quickly than if I was still at home and in a comfortable place.
"It was a very hard decision. But it was one me and my family felt we had to have time to discuss and make a family decision on. We went back and forth, should we go or should we stay, in the end we just took the jump, took the risk and, in my opinion, it's paying off at the moment.
"I'm really comfortable at Leeds now. So that hasn't changed, with changing clubs, and I'm really enjoying my time up there."
The statistics are pretty bleak when it comes to young footballers making it in the professional game, but just how does it feel when a budding young player puts pen to paper on his first professional deal?
"It's an amazing achievement," he added. "It's what I've been working towards since I was seven or eight. I've always seen people on social media signing pro deals and you're always like, 'Will that ever be me?'
"So, the fact I could sign my first one with such a big club like Leeds United, that now means so much to me, is amazing."
Elland Road is now almost a satellite site for Wales. Senior players Joe Rodon, Ethan Ampadu and Daniel James all ply their trade at the Yorkshire club, with Crew hot on their heels. The youngster is drawing inspiration from his clubmates and what they've all achieved on the domestic and international stage so far.
"They are people I can look up to at both club and country," he said. "I know exactly who to watch because they are the people I want to be next to or in front of."
Crew now seems to be a permanent fixture in the Wales under-21s set-up, despite having chopped and changed between the age groups this year. And, for him, it shows he is tracking in the right direction. Matty Jones has done a wonderful job in charge of the under-21s and Crew believes he is one of the best he has worked under in his albeit fledgling career to date.
"Matty has showed great support in me, back from when we were in the Victory Shield. When we had Brazil coming over to Denbigh, he has always been in and around our squads, even when he hasn't been the manager," he said of the Wales under-21s boss.
"The fact he's shown support from the start of my Wales career gives me even more confidence when I come into camps like this.
"He is one of the best managers I've played under. He ticks every box, he gets involved with us off the pitch and on the pitch. When you are preparing for a game you need confidence from your manager and your coaching staff and he gives us a huge amount of confidence going into every game.
"Like you saw in the Czech Republic in the last window, it means as much to him as it does to us. You saw him running down the touchline, which was quite funny!"
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