Andy Jenkinson quits Leeds United, Sky Sports pundit reacts with three-word message
Andy Jenkinson has confirmed he’s left his backroom role at Leeds United after five years at Elland Road.
According to his LinkedIn page, Jenkinson joined the Whites as their performance nutritionist in October 2018 after previously holding similar roles with the England Rugby team, Warrington Wolves and Northampton Saints.
He took to his personal Twitter account on Monday (2 October) to announce his exit from Leeds after half a decade of working behind the scenes with the Whites.
“After an amazing five years at Leeds, it’s time for a new challenge,” Jenkinson said.
“It’s been a privilege to have been part [of] such an amazing club and I’m grateful for the memories made and lessons learned.
“Excited for what’s next!”
Sky Sports pundit and ex-Leeds striker Jermaine Beckford replied to Jenkinson, saying: “Good luck, brother.”
All the best, Andy
It remains to be seen what the future holds for Jenkinson but working in nutrition is such an important job in the world of professional sports these days.
Athletes are such fine-tuned machines and what they put in their bodies is just as important as what they do in the gym or even on the training pitch.
You can imagine how important Jenkinson’s role would have been while Marcelo Bielsa was at Thorp Arch because of how seriously he took the fitness of his players.
Bielsa would have no doubt wanted to know every single calorie every single player digested and that would have put a lot of pressure on this part of the Leeds backroom staff.
There’s no way that Daniel Farke or anyone else that’s been at Leeds since Bielsa has been as meticulous and that’s a massive shame because that’s the kind of thing that was lost when he was sacked in early 2022.
It’s unclear whether Leeds need to hire a replacement nutritionist now but it’s an important job and hopefully the club are able to find a good fit.
In other Leeds United news, Phil Hay has mooted any one-on-one Farke rage at players after what he saw at halftime against Southampton.