The 26-year-old, who has had a bitter-sweet time at Elland Road since arriving on a free transfer from Brighton in the summer of 2006, linked up with the club on Wednesday.

Carole has fallen down the pecking order at United under boss Gary McAllister and hasn't started a game for under the Scot.

Since McAllister's arrival, Carole, who has a year left on his Whites deal, has managed just six substitute appearances – playing a total of just 163 minutes – with his days looking numbered.

It's a far cry from the first half of last season when the midfielder came in from the cold under Dennis Wise and made 16 league starts, scoring three goals. It represented a remarkable transformation for Carole, whose appearances were sporadic in Leeds' 2006/07 relegation season.

The former Monaco trainee knuckled down in the 2007/08 pre-season and became an integral part of the United line-up which wiped out a 15-point deficit in the first month of the campaign and rose to the top echelons of League One.

But Wise's departure hit the Frenchman more than most – and he suffered another cruel blow at the end of last season when he failed to make the bench for the League One play-off final with Doncaster at Wembley.

That was despite being a sub in both legs of the semi-final with Carlisle, coming on for the final half-hour of the first leg.