Charlie Cresswell makes new admission over ‘surprise’ Leeds United exit
Charlie Cresswell left Leeds United last summer to join French club Toulouse to the surprise of some supporters.
The 22-year-old was highly-rated at Elland Road but found his path to first-team football blocked after a tense relationship formed with Daniel Farke.
The centre-back featured just five times in the Championship last season with just one start and a total of 135 minutes to his name after making 25 appearances the season before.
It was a shame to lose the young defender since he came through the Thorp Arch academy, but a fee of £3.8million for a player who was not in the manager’s plans is a tidy profit.
Cresswell explains Leeds departure
Cresswell has now revealed the reason behind his Leeds exit, claiming that the lack of playing time and the assurances offered by the French club made his decision an easy one.
In an interview with Sky Sports [21 March, 10:39am], he said: “I bet it seemed a bit of a surprise but last season obviously I didn’t play much, so I had a lot of thinking time.
“I think they had a clear vision and a clear project and a plan for me, which excited me and I wanted to be part of it.”
Leeds thriving without academy ace Cresswell
Leeds are well stocked in the centre of defence with Pascal Struijk and Joe Rodon forming one of the best partnerships in the Championship.
They are set to secure promotion to the Premier League, if they can hold off Sheffield United and Burnley in the closing stages of the campaign.
| Stats | Leeds (23/24) | Toulouse (24/25) |
| Matches | 5 | 24 |
| Starts | 1 | 22 |
| Minutes played | 135 | 1962 |
It is unlikely that they will concern themselves with the decision to allow the academy graduate to leave last summer given how good their season has gone so far.
Meanwhile, the move has also worked out for Cresswell as he has featured 24 times in the league for the French side, emerging as a key player in Ligue 1.
The fact that the move worked out well for both parties is a positive and it seems that the player holds no resentment towards the Elland Road outfit despite spending his formative years there and not making a significant impact.
The Whites have made decent profit by allowing academy graduates to leave recently with the £4m gained for Cresswell, the £40m for Archie Gray and the £45m for Kalvin Phillips, but Farke must ensure that those funds are reinvested well if they are to survive in the top flight.