The midfielder’s career has taken a downward turn since he left Leeds United.
A few years ago, there was only one player’s name on the lips of Leeds United fans when talk turned to the next big thing.
That player was Chris Dawson, who had impressed at youth level for the Whites and was tipped to ultimately make his first-team breakthrough at Elland Road.
However, despite being rated extremely highly by former Leeds academy supremo and – latterly – manager Neil Redfearn, Dawson only managed four senior appearances for the Whites before he was released from his contract in January 2016.
He soon joined up with Redfearn again at Rotherham United, but the manager’s departure left Dawson struggling for minutes once more, and he ultimately left the Millers without a first-team outing.
A loan spell at Viking Stavanger was as bizarre as it was uneventful and he is now looking for a new permanent home to kick-start his career.
The worrying thing for the former Leeds youngster is that despite having the whole summer to find a new club, Dawson remains out of work and it shows just how far he has fallen in a short space of time.
Still only 23, he has plenty of time to turn things round, but those Leeds fans who once championed him will wonder where it all went wrong.
So many youngsters got their chance to impress at Elland Road and subsequently earned moves elsewhere. That was not the case for Dawson, who has been released from his last two contracts and may never be the player Leeds fans once hoped he would become.
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