‘Came quite late’… 20-year-old admits he was just ‘waiting’ to leave Leeds United in January

Leeds United offloaded several peripheral players during the January transfer window.

The Whites only made one acquisition during the entire window, indicating that they were eager to reduce the size of Daniel Farke’s team by approving loan or permanent departures.

Djed Spence, Luke Ayling, Ian Poveda, and other first team players left Elland Road, followed by young players on the fringes like Darko Gyabi, Lewis Bate, and Leo Hjelde.

Aside from Spence, who was a given, Hjelde was the only member of that group to depart permanently. He joined Sunderland, a Championship team, and made his debut there on Sunday.

After the game, Hjelde spoke with the Sunderland Echo and said he was only

“waiting” for the go-ahead to leave Leeds for the entire month, but he was relieved that it had finally happened.

Hjelde was ‘waiting’ for Leeds exit

He said: “I was waiting for a move. It was just about being patient, really. I was getting game time with the under-21s at Leeds, so that meant I was fit whenever the chance came. Obviously, it came quite late, but I’m really happy that it happened, and I’m ready to crack on.”

Hjelde produced an impressive performance on his debut for the Black Cats, with Sunderland fans raving about his display in the 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough on Twitter.

After being given a chance to play in the first team in the early stages of the season, which he did not accept, the 20-year-old had disappeared from the picture under Farke.

In the first two games of the season, he was really Leeds’ starting left-back in all

competitions. However, he was taken off the field at halftime in both games, and

he hasn’t been in the starting lineup since.

He is obviously thrilled with the opportunity Sunderland has given him,

though, and hopefully he can continue to reach his full potential.