Ex-Leeds United striker Lee Erwin has commented on his time at the club.
Ex-Leeds United striker Lee Erwin has told The Sunday Mail (16/06, p61) that he thinks his move to Elland Road was a mistake, as he simply wasn’t mature enough.
Erwin hit the headlines with Motherwell in 2015, scoringregularly towards the end of the 2014-15 season to keep Motherwell in the top flight, and receive major interest from a host of clubs.
Leeds swooped to sign Erwin when his Motherwell contract expired that summer, with the striker turning down a Fir Park stay in order to try his hand at Elland Road.
Sadly for the Scot, it just never happened for him at Leeds. Erwin made just 12 appearances for the club, failing to score for the club, though his 2016-17 loan spell with Oldham Athletic saw him score eight times in 34 games.
Erwin was offloaded to Kilmarnock just two years after his arrival, and spent just one year at Rugby Park before making the bizarre move to Tractor Sazi in Iran.
Now a free agent, Erwin is looking for a new club. Four years on from signing for Leeds, Erwin is somewhat on the scrapheap, and needs to make the right move in order to kickstart his career again.
The 24-year-old has now admitted that signing for Leeds was a mistake in hindsight, as he was handed too much, too soon, believing that he simply wasn’t mature enough to cope with playing for a club like Leeds.
Erwin added that he’d love the chance to sign for a club like Leeds now, having grown up since heading to Elland Road. That doesn’t seem likely, with Leeds looking for much better than Erwin, but fans may now at least understand his struggles with the club having heard his side of the story.
“I’m the first to admit the move to Leeds from Motherwell was a case of having too much, too soon,” said Erwin. “I was too immature to deal with all that came my way. I’m honest enough to admit there were times when I wasn’t as professional as I could have been. I’m not the type of person to harbour regrets but I wish I had the chance now to move to a club like Leeds as I’m no longer that kid of a few years ago who had so much growing up to do.”
“I would deal with things a whole lost differently, that’s for sure. It was the first time I had to cope with living on my own. I hadn’t experienced anything like it and Leeds United are a massive club so it takes a bit of getting used to. There was a lot of exposure on me and I just wasn’t mature enough to deal with it,” he added.
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