Leeds United loanee axed as new snub explained by manager

Oxford United's Des Buckingham has cleared the air as Leeds United loanee Sonny Perkins was left out of the squad altogether for the U's EFL Trophy tie.

Perkins moved to the Kassam Stadium on a year-long loan deal in the summer, being given the opportunity to gain valuable experience in League One.

While it may have been an injury scare for Leeds fans to see their young prospect left out of Buckingham's EFL Trophy squad to face Forest Green Rovers, the manager has revealed that it was just a matter of choice.

“We can only bring seven [substitutes] with us, and we looked at Sparky [Mark Harris], and if we wanted to make that change, it would be him," he said to Oxford Mail on Wednesday (6 December).

“So rather than have someone that’s going to sit on the bench and not come on, we made that decision and that’s all it was.”

What's the point?

Since joining the Whites from West Ham United in June 2022, the 19-year-old has made just four appearances for the senior team, scoring once in a four-minute cameo against Cardiff City in the FA Cup.

A loan move to Oxford United posed a new challenge for Perkins, with Daniel Farke presumably not ready to integrate the youngster into the first team.

This makes it all the more disappointing to see Perkins be dropped from the squad altogether, especially in the EFL Trophy, a less important competition for youngsters to be given the runaround.

However, he has starred in their previous two EFL Trophy fixtures, completing 90 minutes in a 1-0 loss to MK Dons and scoring against Chelsea U21s. The forward has only been in the squad for league matches on three occasions.

Perkins is only 19 years of age. There is still a lot of developing, and possibly another couple of loan spells, that he will need to do before getting anywhere near Farke's side.

He is one to watch for the future, that's for sure.

In other Leeds United news, a journalist doesn’t believe it’s fair what’s been said about Joel Piroe.