Sheffield Utd star drops 49-word reason why he rejected Leeds transfer with ‘big club’ admission

Crystal Palace winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi has revealed the reasons why he snubbed a summer switch to Leeds United in favour of joining Sheffield United in an admission that Blades boss Chris Wilder will absolutely love.

The Whites made a total of eight signings over the summer transfer window as Daniel Farke re-organised his squad in the wake of a double  promotion miss and following the departure of several high-profile names. With Leeds United waving farewell to big-name trio Crysencio Summerville, Archie Gray and Georginio Rutter, the West Yorkshire side raked in around £140m worth of sales over the course of the summer window.

And while a number of new arrivals were welcomed through the door, including attacking duo Largie Ramanzai – an £10m (€11m / $13m) signing from Almeria – and Tottenham’s Manor Solomon on a season’s loan – there were one or two who did also slip the net.

Indeed, one of those who did slip the net was Palace winger Rak-Sakyi, who was heavily linked with a move to Leeds, but ultimately ended up signing on loan with rivals Sheffield United instead.

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Now the winger has come clean on his decision to head to South, rather than West Yorkshire this summer, dropping a 49-word reply when questioned by the Sheffield Star.

“My agent made me aware of the interest from them and I knew it was a big club. But the manager here spoke to me and I was really impressed with what he said and the plans he had for me. So that made me decide to come here,” Rak-Sakyi said.

Chris Wilder will love Rak-Sakyi comments

Leeds had wanted to sign the £15m-rated winger on a permanent basis, but with the Eagles only willing to discuss a temporary move, that played perfectly in the Blades’ hands.

Those comments will also be music to Wilder’s ears, with the Blades boss making his feelings on Leeds crystal clear amid an enquiry from the Whites to sign Sheffield United playmaker Gus Hamer over the latter stages of the summer window and the Yorkshire Evening Post’s chief football writer, Graham Smyth, since accusing the 56-year-old of trying to claim Leeds had offered forward Joel Piroe to the Blades as part of a swap approach.

And while Wilder is yet to respond to that accusation, it promises to be a fiery affair when the two sides meet two hotly-contested Yorkshire derbies this season, the first of which takes place on 18 October (kick-off 8pm) at Elland Road.

Farke, meanwhile, has since taken a more conservative approach to his summer transfer business, admitting that Leeds are often overlooked when it comes to landing players on loan over a refusal to offer any guarantees on playing time.

He said: “Yes, but if you ask me, a permanent signing is always better because the player is then fully committed and our player to develop. Loan market can be tricky. Some players are not guaranteed to play, which makes it difficult.

“Prem loans come here to get game time. If you cannot guarantee, a loan does not make sense for some players. Would prefer a permanent signing because they are committed through difficult phases. Loan market is an option and we will not fall asleep.

“We have a strong squad, so sometimes a you can’t guarantee minutes. As long as I am in charge, this will always be the case. For me, it’s not about salaries, CVs or transfer sums, or how highly a player is valued on Transfermarkt.

“Names are not important but what you deliver on the training pitch, in games, what you show in the dressing room. It’s never a guarantee whoever I bring in that he plays.”

Leeds United still an attractive destination for possible recruits

While Rak-Sakyi was one player that slipped their grasp, Leeds proved with the signing of Solomon, Joe Rodon and Joe Rothwell – who all slipped back from the Premier League to join the Whites – that Elland Road remains a hugely-enticing destination for would-be signings.

Farke’s side have underlined their promotion favourites tag with a solid start to the new Championship campaign, having won two and drawn two of their four matches so far to sit fourth in the embryonic table. They return to action on Saturday against another of the favourites Burnley in a mouthwatering clash at Elland Road.

One man who has taken the bull by the horns this season is 20-year-old striker Mateo Joseph, who has a goal and two assists to his name from his four appearances so far.

That form has also not gone unnoticed by Spain and their national coach Luis de la Fuente is strongly considering a plan to fast-track Joseph into his senior set-up as preparations for their assault on the 2026 World Cup begin to take shape.

Inclusion in the European champions’ squad would surely see his valuation at Leeds soar.

Another player highly-rated by the Whites hierarchy is goalkeeper Illan Meslier, who boasted the highest clean sheet record in the entire Football League last season.

While Leeds conceded three goals in their opening match of the season against Portsmouth, Leeds have gone three straight games without conceding – a record bettered only by top two Sunderland and West Brom.

The Frenchman’s contract at Leeds is due to expire in 2026, though journalist Ben Jacobs has warned the Whites that any deal for Meslier will need a special clause inserting.

Rak-Sakyi was not needed by Leeds

As it transpired, Leeds did not need to sign Rak-Sakyi with Farke blessed by having Dan James, Willy Gnonto, Ramazani and Solomon to play off the wings, while the returning Brenden Aaronson also complements their options.

All of those options are interchangeable, though there does appear a preference of that quartet to all operate off the left. Nonetheless, James and Gnonto are both accustomed to playing off the right wing, so Farke does have options there.

And with the Whites choosing to spend their Summerville windfall on Ramazani, Leeds will hope they have an X-factor type of player to add to their mix once the former Manchester United man finds his feet.

Both Rak-Sakyi and Ramazani are at similar stages in their career, though the former boasts better stats, most of the G/A he has posted has come at League One level while with Charlton, where he managed 15 goals and nine assists there across the 2022/23 campaign.

At the higher level, he remains something of an unknown quantity, having failed to score or assist in 14 games with Palace or the Blades so far.

He, though, remains up for the battles that lie ahead and added: “It’s a big challenge, going to somewhere that’s ambitious rather than being mid-table or fighting to stay up.

“But I wanted to go to a club with ambition because I’m ambitious myself. So I think it was a good choice. It’s tough to move away [from his native London] but I’m growing up now and you’re not always going to be at home.

So it’s about adapting to the situation you’re in and making the best of it.”