Angus Kinnear slams Luis Sinisterra and Tyler Adams over Leeds United exit tactics
Angus Kinnear has slammed Leeds United duo Luis Sinisterra and Tyler Adams for how they pushed to force through their Elland Road exits in the summer window.
Both players were eager to play at a higher level following the Whites relegation to the Championship last season with Sinisterra making himself unavailable for fixtures in an attempt to force through the move while Adams missed the early stages of the season with injury.
Both players ultimately made the move to Bournemouth, Adams for a fee of around £23m and Sinisterra on a loan deal, but Leeds CEO Kinnear has criticised the methods both players took to depart Elland Road this summer.
Speaking with the Square Ball Podcast (7 September) he replied with a one-word answer when asked whether he would’ve liked to keep both players at the club, saying: “No.
“I respect all players’ desire to play at the highest level. They have short careers and should have the opportunity to play at the highest level. They didn’t want to join a Championship side.
“However, there are ways you can handle your desire to play at the highest level. I don’t think either of those two players handled it particularly well. The avenues Tyler and Luis were exploring had some risk to the club. We were fairly solid in our position but, ultimately, it was a combination of the legal position and their desire to leave.”
Hit out
It’s safe to say Kinnear has said what most Leeds United fans have been thinking for most of this summer. The manner in which both players made their way out of Elland Road was nothing short of disrespectful to the club that was paying their wages.
Both players may have joined a side that was in the Premier League with hopes of remaining in the top flight, but part and parcel of joining a bottom-half Premier League team is the chance that you could end up in the second tier.
The avenues taken by both players posed a big risk to Leeds as Kinnear explained and no matter how much you would like to leave a football club, you should never be hurting the side that currently pays your wages for your own gain.
Kinnear’s comments do pose an interesting situation should Sinisterra return from his loan deal at the end of the season however, as his damning verdict on the Colombian’s handling of the contract makes it hard to see the winger ever welcomed back to Elland Road with open arms.
The people who worked behind the season at Leeds over the summer deserve huge credit for managing to navigate what could well be one of the most chaotic transfer windows in the club’s history and come out of it in such a strong position.
In other Leeds United news, it has also been reported that Wilfried Gnonto wanted to leave Elland Road up until the transfer deadline