Exclusive: Glen Kamara compares Leeds United and Rangers atmosphere | OneFootball

Glen Kamara signed for Leeds United from Rangers late in the summer transfer window - the midfielder penning a four-year deal at Elland Road that runs until the summer of 2027.

The saga surrounding Kamara went on for much of the summer, with Graham Smyth of The Yorkshire Evening Post first to report Leeds' interest in the Finnish international. He claimed he could be signed on top of Ethan Ampadu to bolster their midfield further.

Leeds saw Marc Roca, Weston McKennie, Adam Forshaw, and Tyler Adams depart the club this summer to weaken their pool of midfield options. In their place, Kamara, Ilia Gruev, and Ampadu have come in to bolster Daniel Farke's side, whilst Archie Gray has been fast-tracked into the first-team, too.

The fee to bring him to the club was confirmed by The Athletic's Phil Hay to be around the £5 million mark and has proved to be a real bargain, given his experience at international level, and with Rangers in the Champions League.

Kamara has played 58 times for the Finland national team and had been regularly featuring at club level with Rangers before Michael Beale arrived as head coach back in December 2023. He racked up over 50 appearances in each of the previous two full seasons, but following Beale's arrival from QPR, he did not select Kamara in the starting 11 as often.

The Arsenal academy product had been with Rangers since 2019 and left for Elland Road having made 193 appearances for the Scottish giants, contributing to 20 goals and assists in the process.

Kamara was signed before Leeds' fifth league game of the campaign and has featured in 25 of 29 league games since then, with 23 coming as a starter. He had to bide his time due to the early season form of Gray but has started in the last eight league games in a row, in which Leeds have won them all.

Prior to this year, though, the 28-year-old had featured in 51 games in huge European fixtures for Rangers, including starting in the Europa League final against Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022. The Scottish giants are famed for their loud, passionate, committed fanbase, especially when European nights come to Ibrox.

Leeds have a similar reputation, albeit more in English football than on a European scale, and Football League World exclusively spoke to Kamara, via Sky Bet, who explained that he gets much the same feeling when playing in front of either set of supporters.

Asked to make a comparison, he said: “It’s loud at both stadiums [Leeds and Rangers]. Rangers was loud, and I feel like the fans are good here.

“They bring a good atmosphere.”

Kamara was also pressed on where winning promotion with the Whites would rank among his career achievements, including those from his time north of the border.

“Winning promotion with Leeds would rank very high. It would be in the top three for sure."

Kamara's consistency is vital

Having lost his way somewhat during the latter stages of his Rangers career, it's fair to say that Kamara is fairly back on track in West Yorkshire.

The Fin has been an excellent addition to Leeds’ midfield, no matter what pairing he is with, be that Ampadu or Gruev more recently as part of a brand new double-pivot. Leeds needed to be able to dominate teams this season under Daniel Farke and are able to do so with Kamara.

His consistent level and metronomic passing with either Gruev or Ampadu help Leeds' ball retention immeasurably, with the only thing perhaps missing from Kamara's displays being a goal or two.