Fri Jan 14, 2022 2:00 pm
Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa has revealed he wanted Cody Drameh to stay at Elland Road but the player pushed for a move to Cardiff City in pursuit of game-time.
Some Leeds fans were perplexed when their club allowed Drameh to leave on loan this week, given their club is enduring something of an injury crisis at present.
Drameh had made a few first-team appearances and Bielsa has confirmed he would have preferred for the player to stay at the Yorkshire club as they navigated through this difficult period.
However, the Leeds boss has said Drameh saw it "in a different way" and Bielsea respected the player's opinion.
"No, I did not think he needed to play games elsewhere," Bielsa said on Friday. "He was a player who was very necessary with all of the absences we have.
"He preferred to go and play outside of Leeds. In a situation with opportunities for youngsters has increased clearly, in this case, Drameh would prefer to experiment outside our team. I consider that position valid and I do not think it makes sense to oppose him. What I imagined as a great opportunity, he imagined it in a different way.
"It's more important what he thinks than what I think. I don't think it's convenient to impose in a situation where a player does or does not want to belong."