Leeds United man reveals personal history prepared him for Marsch trial amid tactics admission

Sam Greenwood earned his Leeds United debut five months into his time as a Whites player, but was made to wait a further 11 months before his second appearance for the club.

It was Marcelo Bielsa who handed the then-teenager his first appearance off the bench away to Crawley Town in the FA Cup Third Round, but current head coach Jesse Marsch is the man to have shown faith in the 20-year-old with more regular first-team involvement.

Greenwood has played just shy of 200 minutes for the first-team and Under-21s this season, but none as the centre-forward he arrived as back in the summer of 2020.

Jesse Marsch deployed the youngster as a No. 6 in the Carabao Cup victory over Barnsley earlier this season, the same position he featured in during the Whites’ win over Brentford to secure survival last season.

On both occasions, he was selected from the start.

His solitary appearance for the Under-21 side this season, alongside several other first-team players, came as part of a double-pivot in midfield as well, with Mateusz Klich playing in the No. 10 role ahead of the Sunderland-born academy graduate.

Only off the bench in the 3-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in March has Greenwood featured in his preferred position under the new head coach, but that was hardly a planned appearance, having replaced the injured Patrick Bamford during the first half.

“For me, luckily, when I've been younger, I've played in a lot of different positions anyway,” Greenwood tells the YEP. “So I think that's helped me a lot to adapt when I've been put in them situations, but for me, obviously, I prefer to be higher up the pitch.”

Off the bench at Watford in April, Greenwood made two decisive goal-creating contributions including an assist – both were searching forward passes not dissimilar to that of a more experienced midfield player.

His tenacity out of possession originally led Bielsa to instruct former Under-23s head coach Mark Jackson to experiment with Greenwood in midfield, which quickly became the norm.

A decorated goalscorer at youth level with England, though, Greenwood still carries an attacking threat but he is grateful for the opportunity, wherever it may be.

“As long as I'm playing, I can't complain, I’m playing in the Premier League. I'll do a job for the team anywhere. It's been good,” he says.

Sat beside close friend, former roommate and confidante Joe Gelhardt, Greenwood admits the pair were vying for the same shirt upon their arrival at the club two summers ago, but recognises that personal rivalries are secondary to the team collective as a top flight player.

The pair signed new, long-term contracts at Elland Road this summer, much to the delight of supporters who can indulge in footage of life off the pitch for Gelhardt and Greenwood in newly-released Amazon Prime Video documentary series ‘Academy Dreams: Leeds United’.

For the first instalment of this interview, click here.