‘Still want more’: Manager of out-on-loan Leeds man now shares why he has barely played since move

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Oxford United manager Liam Manning has explained the reasons behind Leeds United loanee Sonny Perkins’ lack of game time this season.

Manning was speaking to the Oxford Mail, where he was asked to address Perkins’ current situation after a difficult start to his season-long-loan move from Leeds.

With game time expected to be at a premium for Leeds this season, Perkins was sent out on loan to Oxford in order for him to take the next step in his development and play regular senior football.

Perkins joined Leeds from West Ham United in the summer of 2022 and quickly proved he was too good for U21s football with a flurry of goals in Premier League 2.

He had been viewed as a top prospect at Leeds and was even handed a handful of senior appearances by Jesse Marsch, scoring in an FA Cup draw at Cardiff City back in January – his first professional goal.

Manning explains Perkins absence at Oxford

However, it has just not gone to plan for Perkins so far, missing out on the last five League One matchday squads, having only played three minutes of football.

Speaking ahead of their trip to Wigan Athletic this evening, Manning says he is still keen to see more from Perkins in training in order to force his hand, though there has been some improvement.

He said: “Sonny came in late, which doesn’t help because the team had already found some momentum, were winning games and performing well. Naturally, certain people tend to carry a bit of credit for what they’ve already done, so then it shifts back to being patient and trying to force my hand from how you train.

“If somebody’s in credit and you want to force my hand, you have to be an eight or nine every day in training, which Sonny is progressing in those areas. He’s improving in training but we still want more from him. He’s still going to play a part, it’s just a case of when.

“He’s just got to make sure he keeps his head down and keeps working. We support him and brought him in because we know some of the qualities he’s got. It’s about now making sure that he hits the level in training every day, so when someone’s level drops or there’s an injury, he’s ready to step in and grab the opportunity.”

Perkins needs patience

Even despite the lack of game time this will be a good learning curve for Perkins as he quickly realises the level he has to be at to make it in senior football.

Dropping down a division from a club like Leeds, it could’ve been easy for Perkins to think he was a level above his new teammates, but he has quickly been brought back down to earth.

If Perkins is able to meet the demands of Manning in training there is no doubt he will get game time, as there is definitely a player with potential there.