Sam Greenwood set for Leeds United return after new message emerges

Leeds United loanee Sam Greenwood looks set to return to the club from Middlesbrough, following a comment on his Instagram post from one of his teammates at the Riverside.

The playmaker posted a thank you message on his Instagram account following the culmination of his loan spell at Boro and Hayden Hackney's reply seemed to confirm that Greenwood will return to Elland Road this summer.

The 22-year-old loanee has made 38 appearances for Boro, including 25 starts in the Championship, and scored five goals, the pick of which was a curling free-kick against eventual title winners Leicester City.

Greenwood's Instagram post read: "A club full of great people. Staff, teammates and supporters: thank you for this season.

"Full of ups and downs and I've loved every minute, time to rest up and recover."

Hackney's reply included a sad face, and said: "Going to miss you, bro."

Will Sam Greenwood return to Leeds United?

Relegation from the Premier League looked to bring about new opportunities for Greenwood, who had previously featured almost exclusively from the bench in the previous two seasons.

Taking the number 19 shirt vacated by Rodrigo, the 22-year-old appeared to be firmly in the first-team plans of Daniel Farke as the Whites looked to make an immediate return to the Premier League.

However, he was loaned out to Middlesbrough just two matches into the new campaign, and quickly became a key figure in the first-team for Michael Carrick's side.

Greenwood's pinpoint free-kick against league leaders Leicester in November secured a 1-0 win for Boro, just a week after the Foxes had suffered another reverse against Leeds themselves.

Leicester stormed home towards the back end of the season though, winning the title ahead of Leeds and Ipswich. The Whites were also pipped to automatic promotion, meaning they'll face Norwich City in the Championship play-offs semi-finals.

Leeds fans would welcome back Greenwood next season - particularly if he can notch a goal or two from set-pieces - but there's still a big question over whether the Whites would prefer to cash in on the talented playmaker, regardless of the division they find themselves in.

In other Leeds news, owners 49ers Enterprises were “big” on hiring a former Premier League manager before appointing Daniel Farke.

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