'The writing was totally on the wall' - Charlie Cresswell's agent lifts lid on his abrupt Leeds United exit

The 22-year-old was highly rated as he ascended the Leeds youth ranks and made his Premier League debut under Marcelo Bielsa in 2021.

However, he did not establish himself as the regular many expected him to be and he was loaned to Millwall for the 2022/23 season.

Leeds’ relegation to the Championship did not propel him up the pecking order and after a season as a bit-part player, Cresswell left West Yorkshire permanently.

He sealed a switch to French outfit Toulouse, moving for a fee reported to be worth £3.8m. His exit came just a year on from his signing of a long-term contract at Elland Road.

His agent, Hayden Evans, told The Square Ball: “Cressie is the weird one. In most people’s opinions, he’s that sort of centre-back that should be on the bench right now possibly, you know, that they would have been a part to play.

“But then you’ve got a situation where he’s clearly not fancied because other people were getting in front of him, getting minutes off the bench in front of him.

“So the writing was totally on the wall. And when we tested the club by saying we might have some interest and the club go ‘fine, this is how much we want’, it’s done. There’s no going back from that.”

Cresswell has missed just one league game for Toulouse this season and has remained part of the England under-21s set-up.

He has faced a former Leeds teammate in Ligue 1 this season, having come up against Glen Kamara and Rennes.