Premier League star says his mother will ‘never ever forgive Leeds United’ after they released him

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Leeds United will be reunited with one of their former academy prospects this weekend as they face Fulham at Craven Cottage in the Premier League.

With four points from their opening three Premier League games, Leeds have enjoyed a solid start to the new season under head coach Daniel Farke.

Leeds have had mixed team news ahead of their trip to London, with Ethan Ampadu and Ao Tanaka in line to return. However, Lucas Perri has been ruled out through injury in a significant blow.

The injury to Perri means that Karl Darlow is in line for his first Premier League start in four years, as the Whites look to end a run of three consecutive defeats against Marco Silva’s side.

Ahead of the game, Fulham’s former Leeds academy product Tom Cairney has explained why his mum will never forgive the club after he was released as an academy product in the early-2000s.

Tom Cairney opens up on release from Leeds United

Speaking in a documentary on the Fulham YouTube channel, Cairney discussed his Leeds exit, having spent time in the club’s youth academy.

According to Cairney, his mum will never forgive the club for the manner of his release, as he prepares to face them in the Premier League. Cairney said: “To be somewhere from seven to 16, three or four times a week constantly, nearly 10 years, the academy was amazing.

“At the time the first team was flying, the Champions League nights, they had top players like Harry Kewell, Viduka, Smith, Rio Ferdinand, and that’s the team I grew up watching.

“The club was an amazing place to be; they had top players, a top academy, they were producing players coming through the academy like Alan Smith was the poster boy, James Milner, Aaron Lennon, that was the path that I wanted to take.

“I played with top players that ended up having amazing careers, like Fabian Delph and Danny Rose.”

He added: “You feel like you give your life, you miss holidays, you miss like school things, going out with your mates and like all for a sacrifice and then for them not to offer a scholarship. At 16, it was hard. 

“I think my mum might have taken it harder than I did.  As mums do, like, how can you do that to my boy?  That’s her mantra, she’ll never ever forgive Leeds United, not until the day she dies.”

Former Leeds product has been a frequent thorn in the Whites’ side

Cairney’s playing time has been limited so far this season. He has started all three of Fulham’s games on the bench, making one appearance against Brighton in the season opener.

Leeds will need to be wary if Cairney is handed his first start of the season this weekend, having proven to be a thorn in their side on several occasions in the past.

According to the data from Transfermarkt, Cairney has scored four goals in 14 appearances against Leeds, the joint-most he has scored against any opposition, alongside Norwich, and registered three assists.

All four of his goals against Leeds came in a four-game sequence between 2014 and 2017, including a dramatic 97th minute equaliser as the Whites chased promotion under Garry Monk.