Jay-Roy Grot was a surprise inclusion in Leeds United’s 25-man Premier League squad when the lists were announced after the transfer window – given the Dutchman has been on loan during the entirety of Marcelo Bielsa’s reign as Leeds boss. Now, he has shown he is not even training at Thorp Arch, with a video on Instagram.
Grot, 22, joined Leeds in the summer of 2017 but struggled despite his tender age. Just one goal in 22 appearances saw Grot fail to get any kind of regular game time when Paul Heckingbottom arrived – and although he scored in a trip to Myanmar, Grot was axed by Bielsa. He was sent on loan back to his home country, to VVV Venlo.
Six goals in 34 games earned him a second Eredivisie loan, this time to the bigger Vitesse Arnhem. But he managed just two goals last season. It saw Grot fail to earn another loan or indeed a permanent transfer in the summer – and now he remains on the books at Leeds but without any chance of game time.
That is why it was such a huge surprise that Grot was included in the 25 players that could play in the Premier League for Leeds this season. However, the player himself has now confirmed to fans on his Instagram story that not only is he training by himself – but he is not even training at Leeds, instead in the Netherlands at the Veel Beter physiotheraphy clinic. Here is a video he posted on his story.
It looks as though Grot is undergoing some form of rehabilitation, perhaps on the back of an injury – which could have been the reason as to why he failed to earn a move away from Elland Road in the summer. Little has been documented on the Leeds outcast though, who is now in the final year of the four-year contract he agreed in 2017.
Will Grot get a chance in the Leeds side under Bielsa? It seems near impossible, but there is a chance he may get a run out under Mark Jackson in the under-23 side – given he is still just 22.
