Leeds starlet seals deal
Monday, February 10, 2003
Article summary
Leeds United AFC's James Milner has signed his first professional contract with the club.
Article body
Leeds United AFC's highly-rated teenager James Milner has signed his first professional contract with the club, which will keep him at Elland Road until sumer 2007 at least.
First senior appearance
The 17-year-old winger put pen to paper today on a four-and-a-half year contract. Leeds-born Milner has been fast-tracked into the first-team squad by manager Terry Venables this season. He made his first Premiership start in Saturday's 1-0 win against West Ham United FC while his first senior appearance came as a substitute against the same club in November.
Record breaker
The second-youngest player ever to appear in the Premiership behind Coventry City FC's Gary McSheffrey, Milner went on to break Wayne Rooney's record as the youngest Premiership scorer by four days, when he registered against Sunderland AFC aged just aged 16 and 357 days in December.
'James is over the moon'
Milner's father Peter said the new deal was great news both for the player and the club. "We are very pleased with the way everything has been handled," he said. "James is over the moon. He thinks it is fantastic. Everything has happened so quickly but he is very level-headed and has taken to it like a duck to water."
