Neil Redfearn did not have Edgar Cani in his plans at Leeds United, before or after he was signed.
Leeds United manager Neil Redfearn
Former Leeds United boss Neil Redfearn has told FourFourTwo magazine of the circumstances which saw the club sign Edgar Cani in 2015.
Cani signed on loan from Catania in the January transfer window, and was not a player he had asked for, or particularly wanted.
Redfearn, who lost his job as head coach months later, explained that former sporting director Nicola Salerno was responsible for the move.
Former Leeds United manager Neil Redfearn
He said: “I remember Nicola coming in one day, and telling me ‘we’ve got this Albanian centre forward, Edgar Cani – he’s brilliant.
“So I looked at some footage of him using one of our scouting tools. The lad looked raw and the level he was playing at wasn’t good, to put it politely. After one of the goals you could hear a lone bloke clapping.
“Cani came in for training and I just thought ‘you’re miles away.’ He was a nice kid and worked hard, but he was nowhere near.”
Edgar Cani
Cani only ever made a handful of substitute appearances for Leeds, and did not make any kind of impact.
He is currently playing for Italian Serie B side Pisa, and is yet to score in six appearances for the club this season.
What made the loan transfer even more frustrating for Leeds fans and the manager at the time, was that he wanted to sign former cult hero Luciano Becchio instead, SkySports reported at the time.
Leeds did not have a prolific striker, with Redfearn reliant and loyal to Steve Morison, but Cani was clearly not the answer and never looked like being it.
Steve Morison of Leeds United looks dejected after missing a chance to score
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