'It was all agreed' - Ex-Liverpool and Arsenal winger claims Stoke City boss blocked Leeds United move
Jermaine Pennant has claimed Tony Pulis denied him a second spell at Leeds United during his playing career.
The retired winger spent the 2003/04 season on loan at Leeds from Arsenal, but was unable to save the club from relegation to the Championship.
Leeds plummeted to League One in the years that followed, while Pennant represented Liverpool, Portsmouth and Stoke in the Premier League.
However, the 42-year-old has claimed there was a chance to return to Leeds while on the books of Stoke.
Leeds United move collapsed
He told FourFourTwo: “It was all agreed that I was going to Leeds on loan, then out of nowhere, Tony Pulis blocked it.
“He said ‘you are going to be in my plans’, but then for the next game when we played Everton, he put me in the stands. I wasn’t happy with that at all.
“I was like, ‘so you stopped me from going to play first-team football, then told me I was going to be in your plans, then at the next opportunity you put me in the stands to watch the game as a fan?’.
“I showed my frustration, and so the week after that, I was training with the kids and was told not to be around the first team.”
Neil Warnock and Jermaine Pennant
The move to Elland Road is believed to have been on the cards when Neil Warnock was at the Leeds helm.
A serial promotion-winner, Warnock replaced Simon Grayson as Whites manager in 2012 but failed to work his magic in LS11.
After leaving Elland Road, he managed the likes of Rotherham United, Middlesbrough and Huddersfield Town before retiring.
Former Liverpool wideman Pennant, meanwhile, left Stoke in 2014 and had stints at FC Pune City, Wigan Athletic, Tampines Rovers, Bury and Billericay Town before hanging up his boots.