Niall Huggins departs Leeds United following Marcelo Bielsa admission about young Whites talent - YEP 20/8/21

Niall Huggins has left Leeds United on a permanent basis to join League One side Sunderland on a four-year deal.

By Lee Sobot

Huggins joined the Whites back in 2009 and signed his first professional contract with the club in May 2019.

Best recognised as a full back, the 20-year-old made his first team debut in the 4-2 defeat at Arsenal in February of this year.

Huggins has been capped three times for Wales under-21s but Whites head coach Marcelo Bielsa said this week that he was mindful that the defender might need to move in order to further his progress.

"Nothing has happened that wasn't what we looked at before," said Bielsa, asked about Huggins.

"The young players of Gotts, Huggins, Stevens, Hosannah, Edmondson, these players who are part of the Academy/the under 23s team in the previous seasons, they have a process of development and growth.

"When they get up to a high or a peak during this process and development like has been for each of these players that I have named, they have to compete for a place in a group that is very small which is the group that is chosen for the season.

"In this case that you are referring to, Ayling, Dallas and Shackleton are all players that play in the position that he plays in.

"If I see clearly that at this moment in time that he hasn't got the chances to overcome these players at the club and if I keep him at the club knowing this instead of favouring his development or helping his development then I am hindering him.

"For all these youngsters, it would be ideal for them to be in the group that competes in the Premier League but if they are not here there comes a moment that instead of staying competing in the under-23s, they need to look for a competition that is higher than the under 23s because if not their progress will be stalled."

Huggins, who can play on both defensive flanks and in central midfield, told Sunderland's official website: “I’m absolutely buzzing to be here and as soon as the opportunity arose, I knew straight away that this was a huge opportunity for me to develop my game.

"For me, the thing I want to do now is play first-team football, so to have seen some of the young lads coming in and having a chance to prove themselves, and seeing the fans’ reaction to it, is really good and it made me want to come here even more. I’m really excited to get started."

Sunderland boss Lee Johnson added: “Niall is an interesting player and tactically he’s very versatile – he is also very good physically in terms of his speed and acceleration and he’s a good dribbler, whether that’s playing left back or right back.

"He’s a bright kid and he’s had a very good education at Leeds, but now it’s the right time for him to step into that first-team environment. "Niall is another one that we have added to our stable of quality young players, so we are very happy to have him and we’re looking forward to working with him."

A Leeds United spokesperson said: "We would like to take this opportunity to wish Niall every success for the future, he has been a credit to the club and we are sure he will achieve great things in his career."