Sunderland's Niall Huggins makes Marcelo Bielsa exit claim around Leeds United exit | OneFootball

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Sunderland full-back Niall Huggins says he was never given an answer as to why he was allowed to make a move away from Leeds United just over two years ago.

That is something that has seemingly left the 22-year-old somewhat disappointed, given he felt then Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa liked him as a player, before he swapped Elland Road for the Stadium of Light.

How did Huggins' career at Leeds go?

Huggins came through the youth ranks at Leeds, having joined the Elland Road club before he had even reached his tenth birthday.

Having made his way through the levels with the club, the full-back finally made his first senior appearance for the Whites in the 2020/2021 season, when he came off the bench in a 4-2 defeat to Arsenal in the Premier League.

In the end though, that would prove to be the only first-team appearance that the Welshman would make for the club.

By August 2021, Huggins had left to join Sunderland on a permanent deal, with it being reported that the defender was allowed to leave Leeds on a free transfer, but with a sell-on clause included in the deal.

Now though, it seems that deal is not one that Huggins was expecting Leeds to sanction, given the impression he felt he was making on the first-team, and Bielsa.

What has Huggins said about his move from Leeds to Sunderland?

With Huggins having also featured in Leeds' matchday squad on a number of occasions in the 2020/21 campaign, it seems the defender felt the decision to let him go came somewhat out of the blue.

Indeed, it seems the emotion from the experience of making his debt for his boyhood club, also meant that being allowed to leave is something that Huggins found rather hard to take.

Speaking to Welsh outlet Y Clwb Pel-Droed about his move from Leeds to Sunderland, the now 22-year-old said: “I thought I was doing really well. I made my debut in the December, which was the best day of my life – playing for my boyhood club. I did well, and I was on the bench quite a lot until the end of the season.

“The manager at the time [Bielsa] liked me, but then I had a call telling me I probably wasn’t going to be involved the next season. Never really got an exact answer why. It was a bit frustrating."

How has Huggins done since moving to Sunderland from Leeds?

Having completed that move to the Stadium of Light, the left-back initially endured a hugely frustrating start to his time with Sunderland.

A serious back problem limited Huggins to just eight appearances during his first two seasons with the club.

However, the Welshman has now become a key figure for Tony Mowbray's side in the current campaign, recently netting his first goal for the club, while his form has earned him a maiden call-up to the Welsh senior international side.

Could Leeds regret letting Huggins join Sunderland?

There does seem to be a possibility that letting Huggins move to Sunderland could yet come back to haunt Leeds.

With Leeds and Sunderland currently sat third and sixth in the Championship table respectively, both look well set to battle for promotion this season.

As a result, if Huggins - who currently looks like being a key player this season - is able to help the Black Cats win promotion to the Premier League at the expense of Leeds, there may be some around Elland Road who would question the decision to let him go.

Judging by these comments, you also get the feeling Huggins will be determined to prove a point when these two meet this season. However, Leeds cannot simply stockpile every player who has ever been on the books at Elland Road, meaning this may be a risk that they just had to take at a time when Sunderland were two divisions below them, and this scenario lokoed unlikely to ever materialise.