NafisaLeeds United supporters have watched plenty of academy graduates come and go over the years, but few have maintained the kind of connection with the club that Jonny Howson has.
Now 38, the former Leeds midfielder is no longer expected to be the player who once commanded the midfield at Elland Road.
His role has changed.
But his influence clearly has not disappeared.
Howson returned to Leeds last year in a player-coach role with the Under-21s, giving him the opportunity to help develop the next generation while continuing to contribute on the pitch himself.
And during the opening months of the 2026/27 campaign, the veteran has been doing considerably more than simply passing on his experience.
His numbers in Premier League 2 suggest that he remains a highly effective player at this level.
How good has Jonny Howson been in Premier League 2 this season?
Howson’s connection with Leeds stretches back almost three decades.
He first joined the club as a youngster in 1997, although it took until 2006 for him to make his professional debut.
That came in a cup match against Barnet, marking the beginning of a Leeds career that would eventually produce 171 competitive appearances between 2006 and 2012.
He became a firm favourite at Elland Road during that period, before eventually moving on and building a lengthy career elsewhere.
Remarkably, Howson was still playing Championship football as recently as the 2024/25 season with Middlesbrough.
His return to Leeds last year was therefore greeted warmly by supporters, particularly because the club were able to combine his playing experience with a coaching role around the Under-21 squad.
And the veteran has shown that he is still capable of making a difference.
Howson has made four Premier League 2 appearances for Leeds’ Under-21s so far this season, accumulating 231 minutes of action.
Interestingly, he now operates as a centre-back rather than the midfielder Leeds supporters remember from his first spell at the club.
According to FotMob, his defensive numbers have been particularly impressive.
Howson ranks in the top 5.5 per cent of PL2 centre-backs for recoveries, averaging 7.01 per 90 minutes.
He is also in the top 12.7 per cent for successful passes, averaging 71.3 per game.
His passing accuracy is even more impressive, with a 92.4 per cent success rate placing him inside the leading 14.5 per cent of centre-backs in the competition.
His all-round involvement has also remained strong.
Howson averages 88.8 touches per 90 minutes, while recording 1.56 interceptions and a 50 per cent dribble success rate.
Those figures obviously need to be viewed in the context of Premier League 2 and a player who is now primarily combining football with coaching.
But they nevertheless underline that Howson is not simply filling a place within the Under-21 squad.
He is still contributing.
What match is Howson playing in on Sunday?
There is now one slight concern for Leeds’ Under-21s.
Howson will temporarily swap his Leeds colours for one of his former clubs this weekend.
During his professional career, the veteran represented only three clubs: Leeds United, Norwich City and Middlesbrough.
It was at Middlesbrough where he spent the longest period of his career, making an extraordinary 341 appearances for the Teesside club between 2017 and 2025.
And with Middlesbrough celebrating their 150th anniversary this season, Howson will return to the Riverside Stadium on Sunday for a special occasion.
More than 30,000 supporters have bought tickets for the club’s legacy match, which will feature a host of former Middlesbrough stars pulling on the famous shirt once again.
Howson will be among them.
It will give the 38-year-old an opportunity to reconnect with another group of supporters who hold him in similarly high regard.
For Leeds, however, there will be one obvious hope.
Nobody involved with the Under-21s will want their player-coach to pick up an injury during the occasion.
Howson has already demonstrated that he remains a valuable presence within the young Leeds side this season, both through his experience and his performances.
The Middlesbrough legacy match is scheduled to kick off at 4pm on Sunday, with live match passes available for £3 through Middlesbrough’s official club website.
For Howson, it promises to be an emotional return to a stadium where he spent eight seasons.
For Leeds, it is simply a case of hoping their evergreen player-coach comes through it unscathed and is back helping the next generation at Thorp Arch.
Nafisa
