Izzy Brown sends heartfelt farewell message to Leeds United as bizarre Elland Road loan spell ends

Brown described his year with Leeds as “a pleasure” despite making just two substitutes appearances and failing to make any impact on their bid for promotion.

Leeds took Brown on a season-long loan from Chelsea in August at a time when the midfielder was several months away from recovering from two knee operations.

The club gambled in the belief that Brown would be fit to feature in the second half of the season but he failed to find favour under Marcelo Bielsa and played just once for the senior side prior to coming off the bench in the dying stages of last night’s play-off semi-final defeat to Derby County.

Brown’s involvement over the course of the term amounted to five touches of the ball, including a late free-kick which flew over Derby’s crossbar.

The 22-year-old arrived with the reputation of having helped Huddersfield Town win the Championship play-offs in 2017 but was never given a run in the team.

In a post on Twitter ahead of his return to Stamford Bridge, Brown wrote: “I don’t know what to say, words can’t describe what we feel right now.

“I just want to say thank you for the love and support this season even though it didn’t end the way we all wanted it to. It’s been a pleasure to be able to play for this amazing club.

“I’m sorry that I haven’t played as much (as) I hoped this season but that’s football. I’ve learned so much and it’s been a pleasure to have been on this journey with the boys.

“Thank you for sticking with me through the difficult times. It’s really appreciated.”