Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink believes Leeds United flop Matt Grimes can play in the Premier League

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Leeds United took Matt Grimes on loan back in the 2016/17 season.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has told Wales Online that Matt Grimes can go on to play in the Premier League, despite his failure at Leeds United earlier in his career.

Grimes went on loan to Leeds back in the 2016/17 campaign and it is fair to say that things didn’t go to plan at Elland Road.

Grimes made just seven league appearances for Leeds, and came in for heavy criticism during his time with the Yorkshire side.

However, Grimes has gone on to impress at Swansea City this season in the Championship.

And Hasselbaink, who had a far more successful time at Leeds as a player, believes that he helped the midfielder get back to his best, as he managed him at Northampton Town.

“We reassured him, we told him we believed in him and we wanted him to play and be important for us and, quite quickly, he became one of the first names on the team sheet for us,” Hasselbaink said.

“He was a little rusty to start with but he was like a bear in hibernation. He just needed to be woken up, just that nudge to wake up, and once that happened he was a very important player for us and he was ready to take on responsibility.

“I am confident that is he keeps working and he keeps going like he is he can play in the Premier League, particularly if he gets back there with Swansea.”

Leeds supporters may be shocked if Grimes does go on to play top level football, but Swansea are certainly in the promotion race with them.

Graham Potter has done a highly credible job since taking charge at the Liberty Stadium, with Swansea currently in eighth place in the Championship table.