Angus Kinnear spent almost eight years at Leeds United prior to moving to Everton in May 2025, with his first game for the Toffees back at Elland Road.
It was back in June 2017 when Angus Kinnear was first appointed to the Leeds United board, where he was CEO for the majority and worked closely alongside Victor Orta.
Despite that famous promotion in 2020, it wasn’t all rosy during Andrea Radrizzani’s ownership of the club and Kinnear has subtly dug at Victor Orta in recent months since then, too.
Kinnear left Leeds in May officially but he was a constant reminder of that period in the club’s history, with Leeds now going down a different route under the 49ers instead.
There’s been a reshuffling behind the scenes in that sense, with Robbie Evans, Adam Underwood, and Alex Davies in the crucial roles regarding recruitment and strategy.
Angus Kinnear’s thoughts on Leeds United 1-0 Everton at Elland Road
Kinnear’s departure was confirmed by Paraag Marathe months back before it became official. It’s fair to say that Everton fans did not take the Kinnear news well when it was first revealed that he would be moving there instead.
Kinnear took Nick Hammond with him to Everton and they had to watch on as Leeds claimed an opening weekend victory against the Toffees.
In the last day, Kinnear has revealed his thoughts on leaving Leeds. On top of those comments, Kinnear explained what holds Leeds back in the transfer market, as well as the same issues that have hindered Everton in that regard.
However, he has also explained how he felt about returning to Elland Road with Everton that day. Kinnear, speaking to Toffees TV, said: “If I’m being, you know, honest, the season probably came one game too early. So, I don’t think…
The host laughed: “Certainly one half too early.”
Kinnear replied: “Exactly. You know, we weren’t quite on it at Leeds. You know, I think by the time Brighton came around, we were there and back.
“And so I don’t think anybody would have said we had we had ideal pre-season preparation just because of the volume of transactions that we needed to do.
“And that’s that’s why they tend to get pushed to the back of the window because people are just just, you know, waiting for something that way.”
Angus Kinnear could be a problem regarding Leeds’ transfer targets
There were fears surrounding Kinnear’s Leeds involvement impacting recruitment this summer, given that he joined them at the very start of the summer transfer window.
Not only did his Everton side prove to share some of Leeds’ targets, but Kinnear also brought Nick Hammond to Everton with him.
Leeds signed plenty of players, including former Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin. However, Leeds could have signed Thierno Barry or Jack Grealish.
Who knows which players clubs shared as transfer targets? Kinnear will know and may well have suggested players Leeds previously did work on throughout the 2024/25 season.
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