Leeds United have announced the departure of Ezgjan Alioski after both the parties failed to reach an agreement for an extension. Alioski’s contract expired on July 1.
The 29-year-old arrived at Elland Road in 2017 on a free transfer. Since then, the left-back has made nearly 171 appearances and scored 22 goals in all competitions for the Whites. Alioski was an integral part of the team which made significant progress over the years. First, marking their return to the Premier League in 2020 and marking it in style by finishing at an impressive 9th position in the table.
The Whites have played some beautiful football in recent times under the reputed manager Marcelo Bielsa. But with the contract expiration nearing, the club had already started negotiations for the extension of the contract. Leeds did table an offer but the North Macedonian International wasn’t impressed with the deal and decided to leave the club.
Leeds United in a statement said: “Whilst the club made offers for Gjanni to stay, we have been unable to reach an agreement with his representatives and his existing contract expired last week.”
While Director of Football Victor Orta said: “Gjanni has been exceptional both on and off the field, his teammates will miss him greatly, as will all of the staff at Thorp Arch and Elland Road. We thank Gjanni for all of his efforts and we wish him every success for the future.”
According to various reports, Ezgjan Alioski has received many offers and the clubs most interested in signing him are Galatasaray, Trabzonspor, CSKA Moscow, and Fenerbahce. Right now, the most likely destination for him looks like Trabzonspor as it is being said that the player is considering the move.
While Leeds United have been really quick in replacing the outgoing Alioski in the form of the young and prominent left-back Junior Firpo from Barcelona.
We at UnitedLeeds wish Alioski & his family the best for the future, and want to take this moment to thank all he did for Leeds!
