LEEDS United head coach Neil Redfearn has admitted it would be "a disaster" to sell any of the club's best young players.

Sam Byram, Lewis Cook, Alex Mowatt and Charlie Taylor have emerged as one of the best crops of youngsters in the country this term.

But there are fears the academy graduates could be sold this summer amid growing uncertainty over the club's ownership and position of Redfearn, whose contract expires next month.

Yet Redfearn warned: "For me, if you want a club to be successful then I think it would be a disaster if you started selling your young players.

"I think that all the promises that were made about planning and building, what you don't want them to be is lies. You want that to be the truth.

"If that's the truth then we keep them and we build on it. It's a really important part of Leeds United rising again because they are the base.

"The idea of blooding them and giving them experience and giving them a feel for it in a difficult season is to put that base in place. It's not to put that base in place to sell them. The idea is to keep it.

"To be fair, all the stuff that has been said to me through the season when I have spoken to the owner or to Andrew Umbers is that the kids are not for sale. I've got to take them on their word."

Leeds head to Charlton this weekend aiming to halt a run of four straight defeats – but Redfearn is still hoping to be the man to lead the club next season.

He has one eye on potential new signings and said: "I've said before how important recruitment is. You've got to get that bit right and that is important."