The transfer window may now be long gone, but some pretty significant news has come out of Leeds United.
Leeds have finally been able to officially announce the departure of Liam Cooper after over two months of radio silence since the expiration of his contract.
Despite it being clear he would not be penning an extension on his just shy of 10-year spell at Elland Road, Leeds have held off from releasing any information publicly.
Leeds instead opted to wait until Cooper eventually found himself a new club, of which he managed to do so today, signing a two-year-deal at Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia.
Cooper was the subject of interest from clubs such as Hull City and Blackburn Rovers, but it is the overseas adventure he has decided to take at this stage of his career.
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Phillips and Whites react to Cooper’s Leeds exit
Needless to say that plenty of messages have been pouring in for Cooper since news of his departure earlier this afternoon.
Cooper sent a long message of gratitude to everyone he has worked with during his time at Leeds across his social media platforms, which has prompted plenty of responses from across the footballing world.
Luke Ayling was among the first, but a number of others from the Marcelo Bielsa promotion team have also been quick to follow.
Kalvin Phillips and Ben White are just two of them in response to Cooper’s Instagram post, both of whom will have viewed the 33-year-old as an exceptional role model during their respective times at Leeds.
Like Cooper, Phillips was a boyhood supporter of Leeds who went onto fulfil a childhood dream of playing for the club, while White was the man who played alongside him at centre-back.
As such, both wanted to pay testament to not only his memorable time at Leeds, but also the person he is in general.
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What Angus Kinnear has said about Cooper’s Leeds exit
Angus Kinnear was the chief executive for much of Cooper’s time at the club and despite some of the criticism he faces from supporters, was part of the regime that brought Bielsa to Leeds, and therefore the best years of the Scotsman’s career.
Kinnear has paid tribute to Cooper in a quick statement on leedsunited.com, highlighting just how ‘special’ his long-serving leadership has been at Elland Road.
He said: “Coops’ 10 years of service to Leeds United is made more special as we live in an age where players, sadly, seldom make long term commitments to one club.
“His leadership, as a warrior on the pitch and as an ambassador off it, has been exemplary and core to the foundations which have seen the club enjoy its most successful period for two decades.
“Whilst he will rightly be remembered for captaining the side to a Premier League return after a 16 year absence, for me, it was his leadership and selflessness to help steer the club through the financial turmoil of the pandemic, which will also give him a unique place in the club’s history.
“It goes without saying, that Elland Road will always be his home.”
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