Leeds United signed Eddie Nketiah on the transfer deadline day from Arsenal but Unai Emery has revealed that he was against the idea of losing him for the season.
The 20-year-old is one of the highly-rated young talents at the Arsenal ranks, and Leeds did well enough to get him signed on loan.
Several championship clubs including Bristol City and Swansea City were reportedly interested in signing Nketiah, but the lure of playing under Marcelo Bielsa tipped the scales in United’s favour.
The Arsenal boss has revealed that he wanted the youngster, who featured sporadically for the Gunners last season mainly on cup games, to remain at the Emirates Stadium this season.
However, after holding a discussion with the player, the club felt it was right for him to get regular games under his belt that would also help him develop as a better player.
Emery said to Leeds Live: “It was the same with Eddie Nketiah, my first decision was not to let him leave, but after he spoke with me and [considering] the possibility of how many matches he is going to play with us, I said to him I could give him a lot of minutes this year, but maybe he can improve more playing regularly 90 minutes each Sunday with Leeds.
“Our objective with him is: ‘play and come back here, we want to be with you in the future.’ It’s the same with other young players.”
Bielsa opted to leave the youngster out against Nottingham Forest at the weekend, but he could make his Leeds debut against Salford City on Tuesday.
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