Back in July, Leeds beat Tottenham to the signing of Sonny Perkins from Premier League rivals West Ham.
The move angered the east Londoners, who released a blunt statement expressing their displeasure at how the 18-year-old had gone about leaving the London Stadium.
Nevertheless, West Ham’s loss – as well as Tottenham’s loss after missing out on his signature – has most certainly been a gain for Leeds.
What’s the story?
Well, the teenager has now been named Player of the Month for August in the Premier League 2.
Perkins scored five goals in four Premier League 2 outings during August to beat his Leeds teammate Mateo Fernandez to the award, as well as Thomas Cannon, Tawanda Maswanhise, Max Thompson, Dominic Ballard, Abu Kamara and Oliver O’Neill.
It rubs salt in the wounds for West Ham after losing their best academy prospect to a Premier League rival.
Aston Villa were also interested in signing Perkins before he moved to Elland Road, and his start to life in Yorkshire shows why so many top-flight clubs were interested in his services.
Leeds beat Tottenham to a gem
If Perkins keeps performing like this, he could even make his Premier League debut for Leeds in weeks to come.
It is said that the England Under-18 international has already impressed the Leeds coaching staff at Thorp Arch, while Jesse Marsch also admitted he is “excited” to work with the “explosive” wonderkid.
The American said: “He’s got qualities and (is an) explosive striker. I think he has flexibility in the positions he can play. He’s an intelligent player. We’re really excited to add him to our to our club.”
Leeds are no strangers to handing opportunities to young talents, such as Joe Gelhardt, Crysencio Summerville and Sam Greenwood.
If Perkins keeps finding the back of the net, we’re confident he’ll get a chance in the first-team soon.
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