Leeds are set to sign Matthew Pennington from Everton, who crossed paths with their former boss at Coventry City.
Pennington, 22, is a player who could play a vital role for the club this season due to a dearth of centre-back options.
He is a player who arrives with a stamp of approval from an infamous former Leeds manager, Dave Hockaday.
Former Leeds United manager Dave Hockaday
Hockaday managed Leeds for just four games before he was fired by Massimo Cellino in early 2014, winning just one.
After that he went onto work at Coventry City as a development coach, and crossed paths with Pennington who was on loan at the Sky Blues at the time.
Coventry’s official website reported that Hockaday was part of panel who voted for Pennington as the club’s young player of the year award, after impressing during his loan from Everton.
This was back in the 2014/15 season, with Pennington making 25 appearances in total for the Sky Blues.
Everton’s Matthew Pennington
Since then he had a later loan spell at Walsall, before remaining with Everton, but his chances have been limited by new additions at the club.
The last straw was the big money arrival of Michael Keane from Burnley this summer.
Pennington needs his Leeds loan to be successful in order to stand a chance of breaking through at Everton.
If he can win an individual award at Elland Road like he did at Coventry, then he will certainly be on the right path.
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