Young Leeds United striker Sonny Perkins was left out of Oxford United’s squad for the eighth consecutive league game last night and has played less than ten minutes of league football so far this season, as highlighted by Leeds United News.
Perkins joined Oxford United on a season-long loan in August and manager Liam Manning praised his versatility and goal-scoring prowess but he has been outcompeted by other young attackers like Tyler Goodrham and Stanley Mills.
Officials at Leeds United may be disappointed that their youngster hasn’t got much of a chance out on loan, particularly given his record at youth level.
Perkins has scored 23 goals in 40 games in the Premier League 2, as well as five goals in six games for the England Under-19s side which indicates that it is time for him to move into men’s football.
In fact, Perkins had already made senior appearances for both West Ham and Leeds over the past few seasons as he scored a crucial injury-time equaliser for the Whites in their FA Cup third-round tie against Cardiff last season.
Manning explained why Perkins wasn’t playing in an interview with the Oxford Mail in October where he said: “Sonny came in late, which doesn’t help because the team had already found some momentum, were winning games and performing well.”
“Naturally, certain people tend to carry a bit of credit for what they’ve already done, so then it shifts back to being patient and trying to force my hand from how you train.”
“If somebody’s in credit and you want to force my hand, you have to be an eight or nine every day in training, which Sonny is progressing in those areas.”
“He’s improving in training but we still want more from him. He’s still going to play a part, it’s just a case of when.”
“He’s just got to make sure he keeps his head down and keeps working. We support him and brought him in because we know some of the qualities he’s got.”
“It’s about now making sure that he hits the level in training every day, so when someone’s level drops or there’s an injury, he’s ready to step in and grab the opportunity.”
Writer’s View
Perkins has been put in a really unfortunate situation. He joined an Oxford United side who had started the season well and are still flying high currently as they sit in second place in the League One table. Manning talks a lot about “credit” which other players were able to build up over Perkins during the first few games of the season and he is well within his right to keep playing the same players in order to ensure that his team performs as well as it can. But, it may mean that Leeds recall Perkins in January.
As his record in the PL2 shows, he would simply not gain anything from spending the second half of the season back with Leeds’ Under-23s. It will be up to the likes of Angus Kinnear to find Perkins a more suitable club who are willing to give him a sustained run in the side as, if Perkins is able to build some confidence, he could become a real asset for a team in League One or League Two. However, Perkins has already played for both Leeds and Oxford United this season which may mean he is ineligible to move because of the ‘two-clubs rule’ that exists in England. What was already an unlucky situation may get even worse as the 19-year-old could be forced into staying at Oxford United and waiting for an opportunity to arise.
Joining in 2023, Aryan specialises in predictions and National League content for The Real EFL.
