According to Phil Hay writing in The Athletic, Leeds United are set to bring former Sunderland youngster Sam Greenwood back north from Arsenal with a ‘six-figure’ bid.
Centre-forward Greenwood came up through the youth ranks at the Black Cats, leaving their Under-18 set-up in 2018 to join Premier League big guns Arsenal. He made the jump to their Under-23s this season.
The youngster left Sunderland as a 16-year-old, saying at the time that he would not forget the experiences that he had on Wearside and the lessons that it taught him – having joined the club as a six-year-old.
Per the Chronicle Live at the time, they quoted Greenwood’s Instagram:
“Today is the start of a new chapter in my life signing for Arsenal and I can’t wait to get started. I’m looking forward to the challenges ahead. Leaving Sunderland after 10 years the club I love and support was a very hard decision, I have met some special people along the way.“
Having turned down scholarship terms at Sunderland, Greenwood left to join Arsenal’s highly-regarded youth set-up where he has flourished. He left the Black Cats after 15 games for the Under-18s, games where he scored 6 goals and provided 6 assists.
That form continued at Arsenal with Greenwood scoring 15 goals and creating 6 assists in 39 Arsenal Under-18 games. This season just gone, he scored 1 goal in seven Under-23 performances.
The Athletic’s Hay writes: “More business is anticipated, including a six-figure purchase of Arsenal forward Sam Greenwood, 18.” Leeds United have been restocking their youth sides after their Academy was promoted to Category 1 status. It seems that Sunderland’s once rated youngster Sam Greenwood is the next through the door.
