Leeds United are battling to get promoted to the Premier League this season. The Whites players are under pressure to meet the supporters’ expectations of being in the top flight in the 2025/26 campaign. However, Leeds fans would love to know that a certain Whites star rejected Manchester United earlier in his career.
Daniel Farke and the Leeds United players are under the cosh after one win in their last five games, and are desperate for three points ahead of taking on Luton Town away from home on Saturday.
Leeds want to secure automatic promotion to the Premier League as their playoff record is dreadful, and the painful memories of last season’s defeat at Wembley are still fresh for a few players and the fans.
Playing Premier League football is also a dream for several players in the Leeds squad, and one such star has opened up about his ambition of making it in the top flight.
I turned down Manchester United to realise my Premier League dream – Leeds United star
Joe Rothwell is a product of the Manchester United academy and had loan spells at Blackpool and Barnsley before he joined Oxford United on a permanent deal in 2016.
Manchester United offered him a contract to continue at Old Trafford, but the midfielder admitted that he needed to move on from the club in search of regular senior football.
He conceded that it was a tough decision, but insisted that he needed the move as he had a big motivation to find his way back to playing Premier League football.
“I’d turned 21, so it was getting to a stage where I needed to go and play men’s football and get some exposure, really”, Rothwell said on the More Than a Match podcast.
“I got the phone call from Oxford, Michael Appleton was the manager at the time. I spoke to him, he said he really liked me, and he tried to sign me previously on loan.
“I’d got to 21, and I knew the time was right for me to leave United. Obviously, it was tough; it was all I ever knew, but I knew the time was right. I needed to get out and start playing games, and, thankfully, Oxford gave me that opportunity to do that.
“It was a big motivation for me to, when I left, my aim was always to get back to the Premier League, and I knew that was something that was going to play a big part in me doing that. Obviously, I’m really thankful to Oxford for bringing me in.”
He could realise his Premier League dream at Leeds
The midfielder won promotion at Southampton last season and is in line to do the same at Leeds this year if the Whites get the job done in the coming weeks.
He is on loan from Bournemouth, and there is no clarity on whether Leeds are prepared to sign him on a permanent deal this summer.
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There are a few serious arguments for Leeds to sign the midfielder on a permanent contract from Bournemouth if the Whites get promoted to the Premier League.
His experience will come in handy in the top flight, and his set-piece delivery would be a massive arsenal in the Leeds armoury, especially from the bench.
