Glen Kamara was one of several high-profile exits from Leeds United in the summer and he has now opened up on his decision to leave Elland Road for the first time.
Kamara had been at Leeds for less than a year when Rennes came calling in July and after an offer of around £8 million was accepted, he was on his way.
Given over £100 million was raised through the sales of Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter, Kamara wasn’t someone Leeds had to let go.
However, at 29, Leeds clearly saw Kamara as a player they could make a quick profit on after buying him from Rangers for around £5 million in the summer of 2023.
Kamara could quite easily have been a player Leeds were able to build another promotion push around, but the signings of Ao Tanaka and Joe Rothwell have made Daniel Farke‘s midfield stronger this term, at a fraction of the price the Finland international was sold for.
Kamara on his ‘weird’ Leeds summer exit
Things could’ve been a lot different for Kamara at Leeds had promotion been achieved last season. It is highly likely he would still be at the club.
Kamara arrived at Elland Road with the hope of going onto play Premier League football, with promotion at Leeds clearly the route he felt would be best to take.
Speaking in an interview with Give Me Sport, Kamara has now opened up for the first time on how he felt leaving Leeds after just one season.
He admitted it was a ‘weird one’ to be leaving so soon after joining, particularly given how close Leeds went to achieving their goal.
He said: “It was bitter-sweet leaving Leeds. We were very close to going up. We probably should have gone up automatically. It was a tough one to take, losing in the play-off Final.
“I was only there for a year, so moving so soon was a bit of a weird one, but things just happen quickly in football and you have to be ready.
“I had watched a lot of the Championship games before joining Leeds, and had friends playing in the league. And a lot of people said when I signed you basically need to average two points-per-game to go up. And we almost got that and fell short. It was difficult to accept.”
Kamara predicts Leeds to seal Premier League return
Despite losing several first team players over the summer Leeds are right in the mix for promotion once again.
Leeds sit just two points adrift of Sunderland and Sheffield United in first and second respectively, with a much kinder run of fixtures ahead over the festive period.
Kamara is backing his former club Leeds to go one better this time around and clearly is watching his old team from afar.
He said: “Some players have moved on, including me, but I think Leeds will have a good chance of going back up to the Premier League. They have great players. I think they’ll be good [for promotion] this season.”
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