Leeds United: Denton dug deep to earn improved deal reveals Harte

Former United left-back Harte, who works as Denton’s agent, said the 21-year-old had pushed himself towards a longer contract after seeing his career at Leeds extended by 12 months in June.

Denton – an academy product who first joined Leeds at the age of seven – was retained after the end of last season but initially tied down until next summer.

A goalscoring debut in a League Cup win at Luton Town last month, however, resulted in the offer of a new three-year deal which Denton duly accepted.

Harte said: “I’m delighted for him. He was offered a year’s extension in the summer and he was a bit disappointment by that but I told him to get his head down, work his socks off and make an impression.

“He got the chance to go to Ireland with the first team for pre-season and he’s obviously done well enough for the manager (Garry Monk) and the owner (Massimo Cellino) to review his situation.

“You can’t take anything for granted in football. You’ve got to earn everything and he’s done that.

“But it’s early days for him and a new deal doesn’t mean you relax.”

Denton took full advantage of his debut at Luton, producing the only goal of the second-round tie with a deft finish from the edge of the box.

His strike drew comparisons to Harte, a goalscoring full-back in his nine years as a Leeds player, though Denton joked afterwards that the goal was his “first since the under-10s”.

“I was watching the scores coming through and when I saw he’d scored I was absolutely buzzing for him,” Harte said.

“It was a great finish and the perfect way for things to go on your debut. But he’s got a long way to go and he knows that. It’s good for him that Charlie Taylor is still at the club. Charlie’s one of the best left-backs in the Championship and Tyler will learn a lot from him.”