Football League World
·21 September 2024
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·21 September 2024
Fresh comments have emerged on one Leeds United player
The summer of 2024 proved to be another eventful one for Leeds United at Elland Road.
A play-off final defeat to Southampton meant that the 2023/24 campaign ended in agonising circumstances for the Whites, denying them an immediate promotion back to the Premier League.
Having missed out on the financial windfall that would have come with a return to the top-flight of English football, there were decisions to be made around the futures of a number of players.
Consequently, some 16 first-team players would depart the Yorkshire club before the market closed at the end of last month.
While a number of those players would leave Leeds permanently, there are others, such as Rasmus Kristensen, who are once again out on loan from the club.
Kristensen only moved to Elland Road back in the summer of 2022, when he signed for a fee reported to be worth around £10million from RB Salzburg.
However, it was a difficult debut campaign with the Whites for the right-back, with the Denmark international struggling to settle as the club were relegated from the Premier League.
As a result, he was one of the players loaned out by Leeds back in the summer of 2023, spending the 2023/24 campaign on loan in Italy with AS Roma.
In the end, though, Kristensen was unable to do enough in the Italian capital to convince the Serie A side to move for him on a permanent this summer.
Consequently, the 27-year-old found himself back at Thorp Arch at the end of last season, although his return to England did not last long.
In July, Kristensen left Leeds on loan again, this time heading to Germany to link up with top-flight side Eintracht Frankfurt on a season-long loan.
Now it seems the right-back's parent club could finally about to get something of a boost when it comes to his future, judging by some of the recent comments emerging from the Bundesliga club.
As part of Kristensen's loan move to Germany, Frankfurt have the option to make that deal permanent next summer, for a fee reported to be worth €15million.
That would represent a profit for Leeds on what they paid for him, which would not be bad business for a player who has made just 30 appearances for them in total, in a season they were relegated.
So far, it does appear as though things are going well, with Kristensen having been an ever present for Frankfurt in league and cup so far this season.
During that time, he appeared to have made a positive impression as well, with Frankfurt sporting director Timmo Hardung recently praising the Leeds United loanee.
Speaking about Kristensen, the Frankfurt supremo claimed that the 27-year-old is a "high quality" option both at full-back and centre-back, which helps his side to switch between formations.
It therefore seems as though the Bundesliga side, who are enjoying a positive start to the campaign, sitting sixth heading into the weekend, are starting to see benefits from the addition of Kristensen.
That could mean that if he does continue to make this sort of impact, Frankfurt could well be inclined to take up their option to turn the signing of the defender into a permanent one.
If they were to do that, it would in turn bring some useful funds into Elland Road. That could then add to the budget Leeds have to spend on strengthening their own squad in the transfer window.
Given how he seemingly struggled to settle, and the fact he has been out on loan in the past two seasons, it seems there is a consensus that things have not worked out in Yorkshire for Kristensen.
A permanent move could therefore be welcomed as well, since it would allow all involved to consider the matter dealt with for good, rather than a temporary fix with another loan move.
With that in mind, these early observations about Kristensen's form for Frankfurt, do feel as though they could be encouraging for Leeds United, and indeed, the player himself.