What Largie Ramazani felt instantly at Valencia after leaving Leeds United on loan
Leeds United's exciting winger secured a season-long switch to La Liga last month.
Largie Ramazani is convinced Valencia will be the right place for him this season after feeling the ‘love’ from his loan club.
Leeds United sanctioned Ramazani’s temporary exit at the end of August, with plans to recruit a first-choice winger before the deadline set to push him further down the pecking order. That arrival never materialised but having not started a Championship game since December last year, the Belgian was unlikely to get significant minutes following promotion.
In sending Ramazani on loan to Valencia - who have no permanent option in the deal - Leeds feel their winger can develop with regular minutes in a familiar league and under a coach they trust in Carlos Corberan. And speaking at his official unveiling, which came after a debut assist off the bench against Getafe on Friday, the Leeds loanee explained what pulled him to the east coast of Spain.
“I have played against Valencia CF many times, the club convinced me,” Ramazani said, as quoted by El Desmarque. “[I felt] the love of the club. Coming here can help me a lot. I really like Spanish football. I've played and enjoyed it a lot here.”
Leeds have maintained they have high hopes for Ramazani, who shone during the early weeks of last season before an ankle injury halted his progress. The Belgian returned to a squad being led by the form of Dan James and Manor Solomon who remained first-choice wingers right up until May.
But the potential is undoubtedly there and in Corberan, who was Under-21s manager at Leeds before being promoted to assistant under Marcelo Bielsa, Valencia have a head coach with a burgeoning reputation. Seen as a defensive manager during spells at Huddersfield and West Brom, the 42-year-old’s current side are more front-footed and that should benefit Ramazani.
“The coach always pushes me to work hard,” the on-loan Leeds winger added. “I want to give my best. Give the best version of myself, enjoy my football and help the team.”
What have Leeds United said on Largie Ramazani’s loan exit?
Leeds will hope Corberan can squeeze every ounce of potential out of Ramazani, with the absence of a permanent option giving them chance to take stock in 12 month’s time. The same is true for striker Mateo Joseph, another whose minutes would be minimal this season were it not for a season-long switch to RCD Mallorca.
Both found regular football hard to come by during the final months of last season, and both saw more senior options arrive in their respective decisions across the summer. That was enough for Leeds to sanction loan moves and speaking to the YEP and other local journalists this week, managing director Robbie Evans explained the thinking behind that decision.
“Largie and Mateo, are both wildly talented players who need the minutes, and Largie also has no buy option, because we insisted we have the option to bring him back to the club,” he said. “So again, Largie was not getting the minutes he needed last season.
“This year, we've added Jack [Harrison] and Noah Okafor so for him to get the minutes he needs, he's better off playing in Spain. He's being coached by someone that we know and trust, and we hope that's good for him, and that his future is open here, if that's the right thing for him and for the club."