Leeds United chief executive Angus Kinnear has questioned the way USMNT midfielder Tyler Adams “handled” his departure from the club and said he would not have wanted him to stay.
Adams joined Bournemouth last month for a fee in the region of £23million plus add-ons.
The deal was a complicated one, with Bournemouth believing they had met a time-limited relegation release clause of £20m, but Leeds maintaining that it had expired.
The clubs made a breakthrough over the transfer, with Luis Sinisterra also leaving Leeds for Bournemouth on loan, but the risk of a legal argument surrounding both players left a bitter taste, according to Kinnear.
The Athletic has reported that Adams did not agitate to leave for much of the summer, but as the release clause ran close to expiry and Bournemouth stepped up their pursuit, it became clear he was ready to call time on his Leeds career.
Asked if he would have wanted Adams and Sinisterra to stay considering the circumstances, Kinnear told The Square Ball podcast: “No”.
“I respect all players’ desire to play at the highest level,” he continued. “They have short careers and they should have the opportunity — should they want to — to play at the highest level.
“To be fair to (Adams and Sinisterra), when they bought into the Leeds United project. One of the things that we sell to players is ‘You’re joining a Premier League team who are on a trajectory where we’re going to be consistent Premier League performers.’ They didn’t want to join a Championship side.
“However, I think there are ways you can handle your desire to play at the highest level. From a personal perspective, I don’t think either of those two players handled it particularly well. You need to approach it through discussion and trying to get to mutual agreement… I don’t think it’s a way to behave towards a club that’s looked after you.”
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Kinnear also opened up about the club’s previous managerial choices in a wide-ranging interview, and admitted surprise at a drop-off under Jesse Marsch.
Marsch was picked to succeed Marcelo Bielsa but though the American coach staved off relegation at the end of the 2021-22 season, he was sacked midway through last term, with Leeds ultimately relegated.
“Marcelo is the definition of unique. Trying to find anybody able to deliver in the same way as he did was going to be difficult,” Kinnear said.
“But from Jesse’s (team’s) pressing stats, the running stats, we thought he was going to be able to leverage the fact that the team was really fit. We thought that was an important part of his game. I think the fitness did fall away, and we didn’t expect that.
“We thought Jesse was going to bring a more pragmatic style of play which was perhaps better adapted to the Premier League. Perhaps you respect the opposition a bit more. Clearly it didn’t work.
“Jesse worked very, very hard for the club. He was very committed. He was always, as he said, ‘all in’. Jesse would hold his hands up and say it didn’t work. He had a very good track record as a coach but you have to accept it failed, and it also failed from a recruitment perspective.”
After the ill-fated short spells of Javi Gracia and Sam Allardyce, Leeds — who are now under new ownership after 49ers Enterprises took control of the club from Andrea Radrizzani — have now turned to Daniel Farke, who twice secured promotion to the Premier League with Norwich.
“One of the things we also liked about Daniel was that when we were negotiating the contract, he didn’t want to be called head coach,” Kinnear added. “He said ‘I’m first-team manager’. That’s a semantic change in terms of job title but it actually sums up his approach, which is much more like Marcelo’s — I want to run everything… It’s exactly what a club the size of Leeds United needs.”
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Leeds CEO Kinnear on relegation, Radrizzani, Adams sale and Farke
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