'No going back from that' - Agent's brutally honest insight into Leeds United academy star's summer exit
Leeds United waved goodbye to several players over the summer.
Charlie Cresswell’s agent has detailed the blunt nature of his client’s exit from Leeds United over the summer.
Leeds sanctioned the permanent sale of Cresswell following the agreement of a £3.8million fee with French outfit Toulouse, with a brief issue on personal terms resolved and the defender’s move confirmed in early July. The academy graduate looked set for an important role under Daniel Farke after claiming the No.5 shirt and signing a new contract in 2023, but that never came to pass.
Joe Rodon was virtually ever-present in his position last season and Cresswell was fifth-choice centre-back, starting just one Championship game and registering fewer league minutes than Luis Sinisterra - who joined Bournemouth at the end of August. The Whites academy prospect often failed to even make the matchday squad and as frustration grew, agent Hayden Evans decided to work on a move away.
“Cressie is the weird one,” Evans told The Square Ball. “In most people’s opinions, he’s that sort of centre-back that should be on the bench right now possibly, you know, that they would have been a part to play.
“But then you’ve got a situation where he’s clearly not fancied because other people were getting in front of him, getting minutes off the bench in front of him. So the writing was totally on the wall. And when we tested the club by saying we might have some interest and the club go ‘fine, this is how much we want’, it’s done. There’s no going back from that.”
Leeds sanctioned Cresswell’s summer exit despite having no natural cover for Rodon at right centre-back, which only goes to highlight how unfancied he seemed. There was some friction between Farke and the defender, who is thought to have questioned his lack of involvement at points last season. The German made no secret he didn’t feel Cresswell was ‘mentally ready’ to play for Leeds, having left the centre-back out of his matchday squad on multiple occasions.
“You could sense that Charlie was not overly happy with this situation,” Farke said in January. “Sometimes he was travelling with us and it was a little bit like he’s not really switched on and focused. We spoke openly and honestly about this and he said, ‘Listen boss, I totally appreciate everything but for me it’s difficult. I’m not happy to be centre-back number four. I want to be top two. I rate myself as a starter’.
“It makes no sense if you’re not fully committed. He’s professional, never a problem with him, but it’s not like he’s fully committed. It was more like, ‘What am I doing here? I want to start’. I totally see why but I have to make the decisions for Leeds United.”