Sam Greenwood’s loan spell at Middlesbrough from Leeds United officially came to an end last weekend.
Greenwood made the move to the Riverside on deadline day last summer with Boro able to negotiate a £1.5 million option-to-buy in the deal after falling out of favour under Daniel Farke.
The 22-year-old made a promising start to life at Boro and after four goals in six appearances between October and November, had looked as though he was making a mockery of the price Leeds agreed to sell for.
However, Greenwood’s last goal contribution came on January 13 which made it more and more likely Boro would not be triggering the buy clause that was agreed.
Boro midfielder Hayden Hackney effectively confirmed on Instagram Greenwood would not be returning to Teesside and now according to the Northern Echo, a decision has been made.
Instead, Boro will now look at other attacking targets and so Greenwood will be back at Leeds for pre-season, meaning he could be in for an uncertain summer.
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Boro fans react as Greenwood to return to Leeds
After a first proper full season playing regular football, Greenwood may well be feeling a tinge of disappointment that he has not done enough to seal a permanent move.
And after news of him returning to Elland Road, Boro fans have been offering their views on the decision, which could be a decent indicator on his chances of making it at Leeds.
The majority of them were of the opinion that Greenwood certainly has plenty of technical ability, though according to one fan, he ‘couldn’t really assert himself on games’.
Another, meanwhile, is confident Boro have made the right decision due to how much his form went ‘off the boil’ after January.
One wrote: “Decent player in there, but needs to master a specific position. Pleased we’ve moved on, hopefully some exciting forward players to come in.”
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What does the future hold for Greenwood at Leeds?
Though it is still uncertain what division Leeds will be playing in next season, it shouldn’t matter in terms of Greenwood’s future.
He has clearly proven in his time at Boro that he is not quite at the required level for Leeds, but that is exactly what these sort of loan deals are used for.
Greenwood has two years left to run on his deal at Leeds and so rather than loaning him out again, they should do their best to sell him.
Not only would that provide him with the permanent home he needs, but also would free up some sort of transfer funds for Leeds.
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