Leeds United chief executive Angus Kinnear has claimed he is glad that Luis Sinisterra and Tyler Adams left in the summer.
Kinnear was speaking in an exclusive interview with the Square Ball where he addressed a number of issues surrounding the club after a difficult last two years.
The departures of key men Sinisterra and Adams were among the topics under discussion following the way they conducted themselves to force through a move in the summer.
Both had been earmarked as players San Francisco 49ers Enterprises were keen to keep during the summer, but by the end of the window they were ultimately left with little choice.
Adams and Sinisterra, who Leeds paid a combined £41 million to sign last summer, both threatened legal action against the club if they were not allowed to leave due to the way their release clauses were handled.
Kinnear glad to see back of Adams and Sinisterra at Leeds
Kinnear was initially asked if he would’ve rather kept Adams and Sinisterra for the season ahead, to which he provided a simple one-word response of ‘no.’
He then elaborated on his answer by suggesting the ‘avenues’ both were ‘exploring’ for a way out of Elland Road posed ‘some risk to the club’.
He said: “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. To be fair to Adams and Sinisterra, when they bought into the Leeds United project, one of the things that we sell to players is, ‘You’re joining a Premier League team who are on a trajectory where we’re going to be consistent Premier League performers’. 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. You need to approach it through discussion and trying to get to a mutual agreement, rather than the avenues they pursued.
“I don’t think it’s particularly helpful to expand but I don’t think it’s a way to behave towards a club that’s looked after you and continues to look after you and was offering you fantastic alternatives to remain. There were players who were, perhaps, led by their agents to employ tactics that mean they’re not on our Christmas card list. 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.”
Considering those two were among the players who contributed to Leeds being relegated to the Championship, it is disappointing to hear the lengths in which they went to leave.
It is particularly disappointing to hear about Adams, who would constantly peddle to the media how big of a club Leeds is, how happy he is to be here, etc.
All that shows is Adams is a good talker and frankly, Leeds do not need players like that at the club and replacing him with Ethan Ampadu for well over half the price is brilliant business.
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