Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa turned down Everton defender Matthew Pennington in the summer and he is now in the Championship with Ipswich Town.
There was a time at the end of the summer transfer window when it seemed that Matthew Pennington would be on his way back to Elland Road.
The Everton centre-back spent last season on loan at Leeds United but he did not exactly stand out, starting just 15 Championship games and struggling on occasions to deal with the unforgiving nature of second tier football.
According to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Pennington wanted another spell at West Yorkshire. But Marcelo Bielsa eventually decided that he did not want another centre-back, meaning the Toffees’ academy graduate headed out to Ipswich Town instead.
But are Leeds missing a trick? Pennington seems a much improved player at Portman Road and has been one of the few bright sparks in a dreadful spell under Paul Hurst.
“He’s got a fantastic attitude, I can’t speak highly enough of him. I think he’s done very well since he joined us just before the deadline,” Hurst told the TWDT while commenting on Pennington’s recent conversation into a right-back.
“He’s an extremely fit player, he gets up and down the pitch extremely well and I spoke to manager that had worked with him before and he had said he did a really good job for him at right-back.”
Leeds are still top of the Championship despite last Saturday’s shock home defeat to Birmingham City, but the lack of depth in defence remains a concern. Pontus Jansson and Liam Cooper are the only senior and natural centre-backs in Leeds’ squad, although Gaetano Berardi has impressed in his new role of late.
Should Leeds’ squad become victims of fatigue over the next few months, Bielsa’s decision to turn down Pennington could prove to be one of his biggest mistakes since arriving.
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