Leif Davis has suggested that he intends to return to Leeds United before the end of the season to say a proper goodbye after an emotional exit earlier in the campaign.
Davis was speaking to The Athletic after an outstanding season with Ipswich Town. The left-back helped the Tractor Boys to promotion to the Championship, providing a staggering 14 assists.
Only Kevin De Bruyne and Lionel Messi have contributed more across Europe’s top five leagues. It certainly raises a question over whether Leeds made the right decision letting him go last summer.
Leif Davis opens up on Leeds exit last summer
In fairness, Leif Davis went into this campaign off the back of an underwhelming loan spell with Bournemouth in the Championship.
But Jesse Marsch did have him in the fold heading into pre-season. However, Leeds ultimately gave him the green light to leave for Portman Road for £1.5 million.
Davis has now opened up on how hard it was to leave.
“It was upsetting. I remember having a tear in my eye because of all the friends I had made at Leeds,” he told The Athletic. It was a hard decision for me. But I needed to play regular games. It was no good for me to be sitting on the bench in the Premier League.”
He then suggested that he plans to return to Leeds in the near future to see his old teammates.
“Everything happened so quickly with the move, I never had the chance to say goodbye to everyone properly.”
There is a chance that Leeds could be coming up against Davis next season. Ipswich have booked their return to the second tier. And the Whites have work to do to ensure that they are not in the same division next year.
Leeds has had another tough year at left-back. Junior Firpo had his best spell in a Leeds shirt in recent months. But his performance on Saturday showed why you can never really fully rely on the 26-year-old.
And with no obvious backup, selling Davis arguably looks like another poor decision from the Leeds hierarchy.
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‘It’s good to see that: BBC pundit impressed by 24-year-old Leeds player’s display vs Newcastle
Matt Kilgallon has praised Weston McKennie after his performance in Leeds United’s draw with Newcastle on Saturday.
Kilgallon was speaking to BBC Radio Leeds after the Whites scored a late equalizer to earn a point on another dramatic day at Elland Road.
Sam Allardyce raised a lot of eyebrows with his team selection ahead of the game. Marc Roca dropped down to the bench, while it appeared that either Max Wober or Robin Koch would join Weston McKennie and Sam Greenwood in midfield.
Weston McKennie impressive in Leeds draw
McKennie has been a really poor signing since his arrival in January. He has produced a couple of outstanding displays. But for much of his time with the club, he has looked like a passenger. He has certainly offered very little since Tyler Adams sustained the injury which will rule him out for the season.
Once again, the USMNT international did not have the best first half. However, he seemed to improve considerably as the game went on. And he had an opportunity to score from the edge of the area.
Kilgallon suggested that McKennie had one of his better games, and he credited Allardyce for the tactical change which helped get the best out of him.
“When he’s been playing for Leeds, he’s sat in almost. Maybe for Juventus, I think they were the runs he was doing, that he was doing in the second half. He made five or six lung-busting runs into the box. And it’s good to see that,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.
“Maybe that’s what Sam was thinking by putting Koch in there, and Forshaw. ‘We’ll sit and we’ll mop things up’, and give him a bit more freedom.”
It is almost baffling that Javi Gracia persisted with a pairing of McKennie and Roca for so long. They were superb in the win over Nottingham Forest. But they left the defense exposed too often in almost every other game.
There seemed to be better signs with Robin Koch and Adam Forshaw on the team. And McKennie definitely had one of his better games.
Mind you, we are at the point where good performances do not really matter. If McKennie is dreadful for the final two games, but fires one into the top corner from 35 yards to keep us up, many will be much more positive about his spell at Leeds.
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