Todd Cantwell has told The Beautiful Game podcast that he was “close” to joining Leeds United in 2022 after being axed by Norwich in the January of that year – before the Rangers star joined Bournemouth.
Cantwell, 25, joined Rangers in January and has impressed in glimpses with the Glasgow outfit – having a hand in 12 goals in 28 games. It comes after his career got off to a wonderful start under Daniel Farke.
Shining in promotion from the Championship with Norwich and then in the Premier League, he was seen as a future England star. In in 21-22, Farke was sacked in November. Soon after, Cantwell lost his place.
Unused sub on Boxing Day 2021, Cantwell failed to make the matchday squad in three of his next four Premier League games and was loaned to Bournemouth. At that time, The Mail said Leeds wanted him.
Cantwell was asked if a move to Leeds was on the cards following his axe in 2022. He responded, saying that a move to Marcelo Bielsa’s side was “close”. He says it was not his decision the move fell through.
“It was close, it was concrete but that’s something I won’t go into the details of. There’s a lot of people that still work within these clubs and you never know when your paths are going to cross,” Cantwell said.
“For whatever reason they didn’t come to an agreement. It wasn’t to do with me, it was to do with the clubs. The conversations were real and the interest was definitely real though,” the Rangers star added.
Rangers star Todd Cantwell says he was close to joining Leeds
Cantwell’s form in the Premier League, the first season in which Farke had got Norwich promoted, saw the English attacker shine. There is clearly a player, in Cantwell, with extreme quality and potential.
But there have been question marks regarding his attitude over the years. Farke got the best out of him at Norwich. He is yet to replicate that. Even at Rangers. Brian Laudrup said he is “wonderful to watch”.
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