Leeds United summer exit lifts lid on transfer move as he names one thing ‘difficult’ to accept
One of Leeds United’s summer exits has admitted it was a bittersweet feeling leaving the club
Leeds United summer transfer departure Glen Kamara admits the club’s failure to be promoted to the Premier League was ‘difficult to accept’ after the Whites racked up 90 points but missed out on a top-two spot.
Leicester City and Ipswich Town both accumulated close to 100 points to leave Leeds in third after 46 games. Daniel Farke’s side beat Norwich City in the play-off semi-finals but lost the final 1-0 to Southampton at Wembley. Kamara was initially a part of Leeds’ plans for the 2024-25 campaign but the club were happy to sanction a transfer to Stade Rennais in July as they received somewhere in the region of £8m from the French outfit, almost doubling their money from the £4-5m they used to buy him from Rangers the previous summer.
Kamara was a regular under Farke in his only season at Elland Road, making 42 appearances. Speaking to GIVEMESPORT he admitted leaving Yorkshire was bittersweet but he has backed his former club to clinch promotion this time around He said: “It was bittersweet leaving Leeds. We were very close to going up. We probably should have gone up automatically. It was a tough one to take, losing in the play-off final. I was only there for a year, so moving so soon was a bit of a weird one, but things just happen quickly in football and you have to be ready.
“I had watched a lot of the Championship games before joining Leeds, and had friends playing in the league. And a lot of people said when I signed you basically need to average two points-per-game to go up. And we almost got that and fell short. It was difficult to accept. Some players have moved on, including me, but I think Leeds will have a good chance of going back up to the Premier League. They have great players. I think they’ll be good [for promotion] this season.”
Kamara revealed part of his ambition in joining Rennes was motivated by a desire to play European football. The club finished 10th in Ligue 1 last term and sit 13th after 11 games – six points adrift of sixth spot and a Europa Conference League place.
“I was attracted by the club’s ambition to be in Europe,” added Kamara. “I played a lot of European football at Rangers and getting back to that level would be amazing. And I think that’s where this club wants to be. If we don’t make Europe this season we’ll be disappointed. It wouldn’t be good for us, especially with the squad we have. We have spent a lot of money this season. The goal is definitely to get into Europe. All the boys know it.”
