Leeds United youngster revises personal target under fresh deal amid praise for senior mentor - YEP 2/8/22
Sam Greenwood has grafted in his first two seasons at Leeds United – but he’s not stopping there.
By Flora Snelson
That’s the message 20-year-old had for fans after penning a
deal alongside young team-mates Crysencio Summerville and Joe Gelhardt.
Since arriving at Elland Road in the summer of 2020, the
trio have made waves at Thorp Arch as the young Whites stormed to a Premier
League 2 Division Two title in their first season of competing.
After netting 18 goals for the Under 23s, Greenwood was
included in Marcelo Bielsa’s matchday squad as Leeds hosted Manchester United
at the close of the 2020/2021 season.
The former Arsenal player became a bench regular at the
start of last season, and was handed his Premier League debut against his
former club in December, coming on for 12 minutes at the end of a 4-1 defeat.
Under new manager Jesse Marsch, Greenwood has thrived – the
youngster made six further top flight appearances during United’s relegation
run-in and contributed a couple of vital assists.
Now, the Mackem has signed a fresh contract which will keep
him at Leeds until 2026.
“I'm over the moon, absolutely delighted to do it at this
club and yeah, the hard work continues,” Greenwood said.
“It's a great feeling - obviously, a lot of hard work went
in the past couple of years and yeah I've just got to keep going.
"I've enjoyed every minute of it. It's full of ups and
downs, it's tough and every day is hard and you've just got to keep going and
keep pushing and always believe in yourself.”
Last term, Marsch trusted the versatile Greenwood to fill in
a number of offensive positions including striker, attacking midfield and as a
number 10.
Upon signing his new deal, the forward paid tribute to one
of his Leeds colleagues who has helped him keep up momentum in the first team.
"Obviously, you've got like the captain Liam Cooper
he's been great with us and yeah, it just gives us that bit of confidence to -
once we get in there, it's great and it helps us a lot,” Greenwood said.
"Once you've got that feeling, you have the confidence to just keep
pushing and going further and further. And that's the aim.
“As long as I'm playing, I'm happy. I can play anywhere in
front, anywhere in the midfield. So yeah, it's a thing I've had since I was
young. I've been playing all over the pitch. It's great, great for me, and it
helps when opportunities come to play for the first team.”
After a breakthrough season at Elland Road, Greenwood is
looking forward to raising the bar for himself this term as the Whites set out
to shake last season’s relegation scare off.
“Obviously last season, it was to try and get some game time,”
Greenwood said.
“This season, now I've had some before it's to really show
an impact in the team and show what I can do, show my talent.
“I think I suit the way we play a lot, counter-pressing and
stuff like that, getting the ball back quick - that's me.
“We need to keep pushing and I think we're ready. We're
ready for the league to start now.”
