Leeds’ on-loan 11 – what happens to them next? — The Athletic 17/11/23
By Phil Hay
In the wider reaches of European football, a full Leeds
United line-up is out on loan — 11 players absent on temporary deals after a
contentious exodus from the Championship club during the post-relegation
summer.
For many of them, their departures felt like the end of the
line; loans which would precede permanent transfers. Some did not see
themselves returning. In certain cases, it was debatable whether Leeds had any
interest in having them back. Between poor form and bridges burned, there was
not a lot of love left.
Brenden Aaronson, the USMNT midfielder, was one of those who
left with no promise of kicking a ball at Elland Road again. But he surprised
many in an interview with The Athletic last week when he suggested a long-term
future with Leeds was still possible. “It’s not done and dusted or anything
like that,” Aaronson said, to very mixed responses.
But how do Leeds see his situation and that of the others?
And in an ideal world, how will it work out for the club when the borrowed crop
reach the end of these loans?
The Athletic analyses the lie of the land for all concerned.
Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin)
Aaronson was a £25million ($31.1m) signing for Leeds in the
summer of 2022, and that in itself was a factor in what happened with him 12
months later. The club had no right to block his loan to Champions League-bound
German side Union Berlin. The terms of his contract allowed him to leave on a
temporary basis in the event of relegation. As Aaronson revealed to The
Athletic, the wheels were in motion for that move within no time of Leeds
dropping out of the Premier League in May.
And from a financial fair play (FFP) perspective, a loan was
better for Leeds than a permanent transfer, simply because they knew that any
permanent deal would force them to take a loss on Aaronson. They saw little
chance of recouping £25million in this summer’s window and booking a lower fee
in their accounts would have increased the challenge of staying within the
Championship’s profit and sustainability (P&S) limits. Instead, Aaronson’s
entire salary was moved off the wage bill for a season.
The line coming out of Elland Road when he left was that,
ideally, Aaronson would have a strong season in the Bundesliga and in European
club competition, increasing his value and putting Leeds in a better position
to sell him for an acceptable fee in summer 2024. That strategy implied that he
was not seen as part of his parent club’s plans, despite him being relatively
young (he turned 23 last month) and having a contract to 2027. There is,
however, no permanent option in Union’s favour.
Aaronson did not adapt well to the Premier League and his
first year in England was incredibly difficult. In new manager Daniel Farke’s
system, there would only really be scope to play him as a No 10 — and
Aaronson’s impact would have to improve markedly in comparison to 2022-23.
Union have had a dreadful campaign so far, leaving them at
the bottom of the Bundesliga and now managerless, and in terms of any
redemption arc, Aaronson has a long way to go if the resurrection of his Leeds
career is in any way feasible. It is not what the club anticipate.
Luis Sinisterra (Bournemouth)
Leeds don’t doubt that Sinisterra is a talented footballer
or, if he stays fit, that he could be an asset to them in the Premier League.
His arrival from leading Dutch side Feyenoord did not leave him out of his
depth in England’s top flight, though he was injured repeatedly last season.
But politically, it would be very difficult for Sinisterra
to get to the end of his season’s loan at Bournemouth and stroll back into
Elland Road. He and Leeds were at odds in the latter stages of the summer
window, with Sinisterra threatening legal action if he was not allowed to leave
on loan. It created a sour taste and Angus Kinnear, Leeds’ chief executive, has
as good as said they would not want Sinisterra back.
The dispute centred around a release clause in Sinisterra’s
contract, one he believed Leeds had failed to honour properly, and in the final
hours before the deadline, the club relented and let him go to Bournemouth, in
return for Jaidon Anthony moving the other way on loan.
Sinisterra’s last-gasp departure did not please Farke, Leeds
or their supporters — and on that basis, reintegrating him seems nigh-on
impossible. Bournemouth have a ‘potential purchase option’ at the end of his
loan.
Jack Harrison (Everton)
Harrison was another player who actively sought a move away
before the cut-off point for members of the squad to activate their release
clauses.
The winger only signed a new deal in April, running to 2028,
and the agreement of fresh terms so soon before relegation and his eventual
exit to Everton are indicative of a bizarre year personally — one in which he
had come very close to being sold to Leicester City during the January window,
only for Leeds to backtrack suddenly.
Harrison has shown before that he is good enough for the
Premier League. The parting of ways between him and Leeds in August did not
create especially bad blood internally, and there was no friction between him
and Farke. But the 26-year-old was quietly frustrated by the way the saga of
his aborted move to Leicester was handled, and he has taken criticism from
sections of Leeds’ fanbase over his decision to go to Everton.
Even though there are four and a half years left on his
contract, his future is likely to lie away from Elland Road.
The Athletic has been told that if Leeds fail to go straight
back up this season, the terms of Harrison’s contract could allow him to go out
on loan again next summer. His move to Everton is a straight loan, with no
option to buy, but he has settled well.
Max Wober (Borussia Monchengladbach)
Wober disappointed Leeds by first indicating he would stick
around in the Championship, only to tell them he intended to leave once
Borussia Monchengladbach made a bid. He had been with Leeds for less than six
months having signed for £10million in January, on a contract running to 2027.
He justified his move to Germany on the basis that he needed
to protect his international place with Austria in a season that ends with a
European Championship but needless to say, the nature of his sudden departure
did not go down well at Elland Road.
Leeds and Monchengladbach discussed a permanent option,
although neither side confirmed at the time whether an agreement over a future
fee was reached or finalised. There is not believed to be one in place.
Gladbach seem happy with his form to this point and as it stands, Leeds do not
envisage a time when Wober plays for them again.
Rasmus Kristensen (Roma)
Kristensen left for Roma on a straight season-long loan and,
to say the least, has not had a great time of it. Even if there had been an
option for Roma to buy him at a later date, it is questionable as to whether
they would be minded to do so, as Kristensen’s impact has been so limited.
In his appearances for Leeds last season, the Denmark
international looked well short of the standards of the Premier League and it
would suit the club to move him off their books full-time next summer. What
remains to be seen is how much of a loss they would have to stomach on the
£10million they paid to take him from Austria’s Red Bull Salzburg.
Diego Llorente (Roma)
Like fellow defender Kristensen, he went to Roma on a
straight loan — his second temporary spell with the Italian side in as many
seasons. Unlike Kristensen, Llorente has been a regular in Jose Mourinho’s
defence and Leeds are very much open to permanent offers for him further down
the line.
Leeds took the odd decision to hand Llorente a new contract
last December, irrespective of the fact his appearances for them were
increasingly rare. He left for his first loan at Roma soon after.
The theory went that across the transfer market as a whole,
centre-backs were becoming more and more valuable, and Llorente — an £18million
signing from Spain’s Real Sociedad in 2020 — might be a route to a sizeable
transfer fee if he received a longer deal. But in practice, his form in England
was very ordinary and an option for Roma to make his move permanent at the end
of his initial loan did not get exercised.
Marc Roca (Real Betis)
Roca has made a much better impression at Seville-based
Betis than he did in England and it appears that his style and strengths are
far more suited to La Liga than they were to the Premier League.
Betis sought an option to sign Roca permanently, and the
only obstacle for them might be their tight budget. They are not cash-rich. But
Leeds have no plans to re-involve him and people close to Roca say he is also
minded to think that his days at Elland Road are done. His £10million move from
Bayern Munich in summer 2022 goes down as another failed transfer.
Sam Greenwood (Middlesbrough)
Farke had a close look at several youngsters during the
summer before concluding they would not be a part of his plans.
Greenwood was one of those, along with Cody Drameh and Leo
Hjelde. He eventually joined fellow Championship side Middlesbrough, where he
has shown some impressive form, scoring four times in his last six appearances,
including their winner against Leicester City on Saturday.
Farke was happy to see Greenwood go out and Middlesbrough
negotiated a £1.5million option to take him permanently at the end of the
season. Based on how he has played for them so far, that seems highly likely to
happen.
Robin Koch (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Koch’s deal at Leeds expires in 2024, meaning when his loan
at Frankfurt finishes, he will be a free agent. So this boat has sailed.
Cody Drameh (Birmingham City)
Drameh is into the last year of his Leeds contract but his
loan to Birmingham still included a permanent option set for next summer.
The reason for that is Drameh is 21 years old and, because
of his age, Leeds only have to offer him an extension on his existing terms to
be entitled to compensation for him at the end of this season. The right-back
has no intention of actually taking up a fresh deal at Elland Road having
struggled for game time.
Sonny Perkins (Oxford United)
Leeds caused minor ructions by landing Perkins originally,
bringing him into their academy after he refused the offer of a professional
deal at West Ham United. The London club were angered by the loss of Perkins
and, via an official statement on their website, went close to alleging that an
illegal approach had been made.
It left the matter to be settled via tribunal but Perkins
has not progressed at Elland Road and so far at Oxford, who are second in the
third tier of English football, he has barely kicked a ball. He is still only
19 but, given that Farke allowed him to go in the first place, it is hard to
see how he forces his way back into the picture at his parent club.