Manager says Leeds United player has ‘loads of things’ to work on after Elland Road loan exit

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Leeds United have already waved goodbye to a whole squad’s worth of players this summer with four recognisable names leaving Elland Road on loan, and one has lots of work to do.

Permanently, Leeds have sold Archie Gray, Kris Klaesson, Marc Roca, Diego Llorente and Charlie Cresswell. Roca and Llorente have gone to Betis, Gray to Spurs while Klaesson and Cresswell are out in Europe.

Liam Cooper, Cody Drameh and Ian Poveda have left with their contracts expiring but are yet to find a new club. Meanwhile, Jamie Shackleton and Lew Bate have joined Sheffield United and Stockport on frees.

Then, four players have gone on loan. Darko Gyabi has gone back to Plymouth, while Sam Greenwood has also joined a Championship side in Preston. Jack Harrison is back at Everton for a second campaign.

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Manager says there is work to do with Leeds United loanee

Another to go on loan is Sonny Perkins, with the 20-year-old returning to boyhood club Leyton Orient ahead of a League One campaign next season. Perkins got off to a good start, scoring in a friendly.

Orient took on non-league side Hornchurch and despite being made to wait until 37 minutes to score, they cruised to a 7-0 win. Perkins nabbed his side’s second, scoring from close range with a neat finish.

But manager Richie Wellens knows Perkins is not the finished article and spoke to Orient’s website after the win, underlining the point that there is plenty of work to be done with the Leeds United attacker.

“We’ve obviously watched Sonny a lot. Played centre-forward for West Ham. Really good in and around the six-yard box, penalty spot. He’s got loads of things we can work on, loads of things we can improve.”

Make or break for Perkins next season if he wants Leeds future

Former West Ham attacker Perkins has failed at Leeds so far. Bought from West Ham having made senior appearances for the Hammers, he was expected to be knocking on the door of the first team immediately.

But he managed just four senior outings in two years, even after his goal against Cardiff City in The FA Cup. Relegation to the Championship might have helped some young players, but Perkins wasn’t one.

Instead, he struggled on loan at Oxford for the first part of last season and returned to Leeds unable to go out on loan again. If he is to have a future at Leeds, he simply has to light it up at Orient in 2024-25.