Leeds United had an option to purchase Alfonso Pedraza from Villarreal at the end of the season but he is returning to Spain instead.
Robbie Fowler cost Leeds £11m when moving from Liverpool 16 years ago
It always seemed a risk that Leeds United agreed to make an unproven 21-year-old import their most expensive signing since Robbie Fowler in 2001 if they won promotion to the Premier League, as reported by the Yorkshire Evening Post.
Yet, they needn’t have worried. After all, The Whites’ run of just one win in their last eight Championship fixtures meant they missed out on the play-offs. And Alfonso Pedraza returned to Spain upon the expiry of his loan spell rather than triggering an £8.5 million permanent switch.
Leeds’ Alfonso Pedraza didn’t make the impression fans hoped
Starting just eight Championship games, contributing one goal and zero assists, the Spaniard hardly set the world alight at Elland Road despite impressing on occasions.
Therefore, it’s difficult to argue that the Villarreal-owned winger, who thrived on loan at second division Lugo in the first half of last season, would have been worth the money for Leeds.
‘I want to stay in Spain’
And it seems the five-month spell in Yorkshire is not something Pedraza is keen to repeat any time soon – although he admits that he returns home a better footballer.
“Although it wasn’t one of my best experiences, I learned a lot and I improved both as a player and person,” the Spain Under-21 international told Marca.
“(At Lugo) I got enough goals and gave a lot of assists. I had a lot of confidence and then, at Leeds, everything went very quickly. I arrived in February, didn’t have time to adapt, the league was already in play and there were many matches.
“This year I would like to stay in Spain.”
Whether Pedraza has done enough to earn a place in the Villarreal first-team remains to be seen. After all, with Samu Castillejo, Jonathan Dos Santos and Nicola Sansone to choose from, Yellow Submarines boss Fran Escriba is not short of options at La Liga’s fifth placed club.
The tricky Castillejo is just one player standing in Pedraza’s way at Villarreal
Therefore, another loan looks likely. But don’t expect to see Pedraza in the white of Leeds again any time soon.
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