Leeds United saw 18 players leave Elland Road this summer including a number of key players they had hoped to keep
Angus Kinnear admits Leeds United were guilty of being naïve in their attempts to keep hold of star names this summer. It comes following a transfer window in which Leeds said goodbye to 18 players, including a host of key, high profile figures, as they looked to pick themselves up following Premier League relegation.
“What I've seen is, and I kind of believe the players when I've spoken to them, the vehemence that they don't want to play in the Championship has absolutely surprised me,” Kinnear told The Square Ball. “I don't think it's a Leeds United thing, I think it is a broader football thing.“It's about the profile of the Premier League. It's about the money paid in the Premier League, particularly for international players, it's about how they feel about the Championship.
“I have to say, I kind of feel like I've been maybe naive about it, but it's been just brutally disappointing at how we've seen players want to crawl over broken glass to leave our club. Leeds weren’t the only relegated team to see assets ripped away from them this summer, with Leicester City and Southampton both losing a handful of key men, too. However, the Whites found themselves to be powerless in a majority of the situations, with exit clauses ensuring that players could not only leave, they could leave on loan, meaning United haven’t been able to command the transfer fees that others have.
“I think people have been able to forgive Maddison and Tielemans and Barnes, they've been able to forgive them one bad season or one below average season because they've had four or five good seasons in the Premier League before that where they've proven their class. They definitely deserve to generate the fees.
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