Leeds United finalising permanent transfer as 3-goal striker set for League One switch
Leeds United are expected to confirm the transfer imminently.
Leeds United look set to finalise their third exit of the month with Sonny Perkins to make his Leyton Orient loan spell permanent.
Perkins joined Orient on a season-long loan in June and after a slow return to his former club, has hit form. The forward has three goals and six assists across all competitions including three assists in his last three appearances.
O’s manager Richie Wellens admitted earlier this month he wanted to sign Perkins permanently and that looks set to go ahead. The Athletic first reported the development on Tuesday, with sources since confirming to the YEP that the 20-year-old will leave Elland Road permanently.
Confirmation of the exit could come as soon as later this afternoon. Perkins will be the first permanent transfer Leeds have agreed this month, with two prior deal being loans. Joe Gelhardt joined Hull City for the rest of the season while Charlie Crew agreed a six-month loan move to Doncaster Rovers.
Leeds will receive a small fee for the forward, whose three-year contract was set to expire this summer with no clear path into the first-team. Elland Road chiefs have also been able to insert a significant sell-on percentage, opening the door to a future cash windfall if Perkins continues to improve before earning another move.
That kind of deal will soon bring money into Elland Road via the €8.5million (£7m) sale of Mateusz Bogusz from Los Angeles FC to Mexican outfit Cruz Azul. The Polish starlet left LS11 in March 2023 for around £1m, with the insertion of a similar sell-on clause handing Leeds a portion of the profits now his move has been confirmed.
Leeds have regularly allowed young players to move on before the expiration of their contracts if a place in the first-team is not looking likely, but Under-21s football is not challenging enough. Max Dean and Sean McGurk are two recent examples, joining MK Dons and Swindon Town respectively.
Perkins made just four senior appearances during his two-and-a-half year spell at Leeds, scoring once - an added-time equaliser in the FA Cup third-round win at Cardiff City two years ago. The forward was never able to make a serious break into the first-team picture following his summer 2022 move from West Ham, playing mostly for the Under-21s.
The forward initially joined Oxford United on loan in the summer of 2023, following Farke’s appointment as manager, but that move was unsuccessful and cut short. Perkins looks to have settled in much better back at Brisbane Road, where he began his youth career before joining West Ham.