Has Charlie Cresswell's move from Leeds United to Toulouse gone to plan so far? | OneFootball

FLW assess how Charlie Cresswell has been getting on since leaving Leeds United or Toulouse this summer.

Charlie Cresswell was rarely seen in a Leeds United line-up in 2023/24 as Daniel Farke utilised other options instead and the centre-back has since departed the club to French side Toulouse in search of regular game time.

The Whites' academy graduate sealed a £3.8 million move to the Ligue 1 outfit, with Leeds needing to raise funds and happy to sell a player who had failed to nail down a consistent starting spot under the German.

After developing during a loan stint with Millwall, the 22-year-old may have been hoping to be afforded more opportunities with Leeds last season since they were relegated to the Championship but he struggled to break into Farke's plans consistently.

Cresswell only penned a new four-year contract in August 2023, which saw him commit his future to the Whites until the summer of 2027, but 12 months on he has now left the side for good.

Cresswell started just one Championship game and two EFL Cup ties for Leeds in 2023/24. His last appearance in a Leeds shirt came in a 3-0 win over Rotherham United in early February, with just six minutes of normal time left to play.

The centre-back found himself way down the pecking order, with Pascal Struijk and Joe Rodon starting the majority of games, and Liam Cooper or Ethan Ampadu the primary deputies in their absence.

That meant Cresswell was regularly named amongst the substitutes as an unused sub, including during 13 of the final 15 league games. It must have been a frustration for a developing young player.

Charlie Cresswell's early promise at Leeds

After making his debut for the club in an EFL Cup clash with Hull City in 2020, big things were expected of the United academy graduate after he had captained the side through various age groups too, but things haven’t quite panned out the way both player and club would have liked.

Following a successful loan with Millwall only just over a year ago, Cresswell could be forgiven for thinking that he may have a larger role with Leeds in 2023/24. A season of stagnation instead followed where many thought he might kick on and become a Championship regular for a top side.

Cresswell proved with the Lions in the season prior that he is capable of starting games in the second tier. The best thing for his development was regular game time and he was simply not granted the much-needed minutes.

Cresswell, like many other fringe players, was in need of developmental minutes at senior footballing level, as opposed to languishing within Leeds' reserves or on the fringes of the first team. Doubts were even cast over the defender during the season, with Farke questioning the young star’s focus.

He was handed squad number five, though it proved to be something of nothing, rather than the statement of intent many had expected. The 22-year-old was instead cast aside and deemed to be surplus to requirements for Farke last season, having only featured in five Championship matches over the course of the campaign.

He impressed in the Premier League during a 2-1 loss to West Ham United and the threat of Michail Antonio at Elland Road in 2021/22, but those early signs of potential only helped in securing Leeds a decent fee when selling Cresswell.

Leeds were looking to offload players to balance the books in the summer after missing out on promotion, with funds needing to be raised to meet EFL financial regulations. Cresswell represented pure profit in terms of PSR, as he is an academy product, so they were able to book all the cash from his sale.

The 22-year-old’s move away from Elland Road was said to have fallen through at one stage, with Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Graham Smyth reporting that the move broke down due to the player, not the clubs involved. But the transfer saga ended when Toulouse got the green light from Cresswell, with Leeds bringing in a reported £3.8 million for the giant central defender.

Charlie Cresswell's move to France from Leeds

Of course, Leeds are a second-tier side and Toulouse are competing in the French top flight, having secured an 11th-placed finish last season. They also have an extremely young side, like many in France, and Cresswell will be looking to impress and potentially return to England one day.

Cresswell will hope the move to France will help to kick-start his career after enduring a tough time with Leeds due to a lack of minutes on the pitch for the Whites and he has already surpassed the number of minutes he received last season with his new side in the current campaign.

In his first two outings, Cresswell's new side played him for the full 90 minutes, during draws to Nantes and OGC Nice. Cresswell completed 97 of his 125 passes across those games, whilst also registering nine tackles, interceptions, and blocks combined (all stats per FBref).

After a strong start, it all started to go wrong during a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Marseille, with Cresswell's pass completion dropping down to 60%, as he completed just 13 take-ons in the game, compared to 76 in the opening fixtures.

Not only that, but he was directly at fault for two of the goals in the clash. He was hauled off after 62 minutes and dropped to the bench for the fourth appearance against Le Havre, where Toulouse won 2-0 and he came on with just nine minutes remaining.

The disaster-class against the French giants in his third outing could prove to be costly in winning his place back in the side, with experienced full-back Djibril Sidibe taking his place as the right-sided centre-back alongside the talented duo of Mark McKenzie and Rasmus Nicolaisen in their back three system.

He was reinstated into the starting line-up against Stade Brestois but was taken off after 78 minutes at 1-0 down, with the final score ending 2-0. Cresswell was then back to the bench against Olympique Lyon but was not given any game time during a 2-1 defeat.

In their most recent fixture prior to the international break, Cresswell played in the final 14 minutes of a 2-1 loss to LOSC Lille.

It started promisingly for the 22-year-old but has since been a struggle from a personal perspective with the team's results dropping off as well.

His aerial prowess will be a threat and useful weapon from set-pieces in certain scenarios in both boxes. If not to score directly, then to put it across for a teammate, but will that prove to be enough? Will Leeds end up regretting his sale? It appears not, as things stand, but there is still plenty of the season, and beyond, left for him to prove the Whites wrong.