Granddi Ngoyi made just a single Championship appearance for Leeds United during the Massimo Cellino era.
A quick glance at the 2,500 capacity Stade Andre Tremet conjures up memories of enforced cross country on a miserable Tuesday afternoon rather than professional club football.
This creaky old ground, with its single, corrugated, off-green shed of a stand, is now home to Granddi Ngoyi – a man who came to symbolise the confusion and the mediocrity of the Massimo Cellino era at Leeds United.
A one-time Congo international who made 24 Ligue 1 appearances for Paris Saint-Germain, Leeds fans were keen to look on the positive side when the little-known midfielder arrived at Elland Road on loan from Palermo in 2015.
Rumours have it, Ngoyi signed without ever undergoing a medical. So of course he would pick up an injury immediately after arriving in West Yorkshire, making his one and only appearance in the famous white shirt three months later.
Starting in the centre of midfield alongside Luke Murphy and Alex Mowatt, Leeds were beaten 2-0 at home by Norwich in that April 2015 clash and Ngoyi was quickly, and quietly, ushered out of the door.
With Marcelo Bielsa bringing pride back to this famous old club and the calm, classy Andrea Radrizzani banishing memories of the madcap Cellino, Leeds United is a very different place these days. But while this proud old club has moved positively in the right direction, the same cannot be said of Ngoyi.
After almost three years out of the game with injury, Ngoyi returned to action with Senart-Moissy last year, a club based in metropolitan Paris all the way down in the French fifth tier.
“I expect nothing, if not the desire to find pleasure. If I stop playing football, it will be because of all my injuries,” Ngoyi, still just 31, told Le Parisien last year.
“I am no longer able to meet the requirements of the highest level. I have no regrets about my career. I gave everything.”
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