‘One that got away’: Graham Smyth believes Leeds could live to regret 21-year-old’s summer exit

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Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Graham Smyth believes Cody Drameh could be ‘one that got away’ for Leeds United.

Smyth was speaking on the latest episode of the Inside Elland Road Podcast where he discussed Leeds’ right-back situation following the weekend draw with Sheffield Wednesday, and the final week of the window.

Drameh was allowed to leave Leeds on a season-long-loan to Birmingham City on deadline day after the Whites brought in Djed Spence from Tottenham Hotspur 48 hours earlier.

Drameh is out of contract at Leeds next summer and Birmingham have an option-to-buy on their loan deal, meaning his calamitous display at Ipswich Town was his last appearance in a white shirt.

Unfortunately for the 21-year-old, it just never worked out for him at Leeds despite the fact he enjoyed two brilliant loan spells at Cardiff City and Luton Town.

Smyth thinks Drameh could be ‘one that got away’

After relegation, this season had been tipped as the one he finally made his breakthrough at Leeds but an untimely hamstring injury in pre-season meant he began the campaign on the bench, and was never able to recover his place.

Drameh was then brought on at left-back during the first-half of Leeds’ 4-3 win at Ipswich Town, before being substituted at half-time after a really poor display.

Despite the addition of Spence, as well as the fact Drameh was never able to show his best at Leeds, Smyth still feels he could be ‘one that got away’.

He said: “There is going to be a serious fight for that right-back spot. I still think that Cody Drameh has the potential to be one that got away, I really do. But you can’t really argue when you bring in a player of Spence’s quality, and you look at how well he did in that Forest team, and how much Spurs were willing to pay for him.”

Drameh was never given a consistent enough run of games at Leeds but there is no doubt they have upgraded by replacing him with Spence.

Spence is far superior to Drameh on the ball and will offer a different dimension to Leeds’ attack, but that’s not to say he won’t go on to enjoy an excellent career.