Leeds United didn't get 2017 bargain they expected from Newcastle United: View | OneFootball

Vurnon Anita made over 150 appearances for the Magpies, but failed to replicate his form with Leeds.

Leeds United spent the end of the 2010s building up towards a return to the Premier League, and the club nailed their transfer policy throughout the majority of that time.

Nevertheless, the 2017/18 season was one that, while filled with promise, failed to bring success to Elland Road for yet another year.

Manager Thomas Christiansen brought in a number of new players, with Vurnon Anita the sixth new addition in summer 2017. He followed Felix Wiedwald, Mateusz Klich, Hadi Sacko, Pontus Jansson, and Madger Gomes to the club, with supporters hoping for an improvement on the 7th place finish the year before.

Anita was one of the most exciting additions to the Leeds squad, having played a key role in Newcastle United's promotion back to the Premier League in 2016/17, and after signing a three-year deal with the Whites, hopes were high for a great season.

Anita was excellent for Newcastle and was an exciting signing for Leeds

Newcastle signed the midfielder from Ajax in 2012, with the Magpies playing their football in the top flight.

He spent the next five years at St. James' Park, before leaving the club following the expiration of his contract.

It allowed the Whites to swoop in and bring Anita to Elland Road, with the hope that he could use his vast experience to give Leeds the bite in midfield that they had been missing when they narrowly missed out on the play-offs.

Known for his athleticism and unbelievable work-rate, it looked as though the Yorkshire-based club had picked up the coup of the summer by not spending a penny on a transfer fee for the then 28-year-old.

A three-year contract looked to be the perfect amount of time for Anita to impose himself on the club, but it was a move that proved to be a disaster for both parties.

Anita's form left a lot to be desired at Leeds

Having played as a full-back for the last year and a half of his Newcastle career, Anita was hoping that his new club offered him a new opportunity to return to his more natural position of defensive midfield.

However, he was once again placed at both left-back and right-back throughout his time with Leeds, something that was not the intention.

The Whites suffered injuries to Luke Ayling, Gaetano Berardi and Laurens De Bock, forcing the current Curaçao international into the team away from the midfield.

He struggled to retain any form throughout the season, and despite an excellent start to the season for the team itself, the campaign soon started to fall apart.

Eight losses in 11 Championship games saw Leeds drop from top of the table to 10th in less than two months, and it was a pattern that followed the club for the rest of the year.

Despite a recovery through the winter, Christiansen was sacked, and Paul Heckingbottom came in to see the season out. But Leeds won just three of their final 13 matches, eventually finishing the season in 13th.

Anita continued to be played out of position, and with his high wages costing the team financially, it seemed as though it was just a matter of time before he left the club.

He had come to Elland Road to help the team towards a promotion fight, but struggled to make an impact. Anita was off-loaded to Willem II in the Netherlands in the summer of 2018 on loan, and was released at the end of the 2018/19 season, a year before his contract ended.

A move from Newcastle that offered such promise delivered very little.