Football League World
·30. Januar 2025
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·30. Januar 2025
Sonny Perkins looks set to seal a permanent move away from the Whites to Leyton Orient
This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...
With Leeds United forward Sonny Perkins set to make his loan to Leyton Orient a permanent one this week, our Whites fan pundit has expressed his disappointment at how the 20-year-old has been unable to break into Daniel Farke's senior side over the last few years, but also believes that a full-time switch to the O's does make sense for all parties.
London-born Perkins was initially on Orient's books as a youngster, but joined West Ham at under-15 level and worked his way through the Irons' academy system to make three appearances for their first-team in the 2021/22 campaign.
He rejected a professional contract at the London Stadium to join Leeds in 2022, and while his impressive Premier League 2 form saw him be a highly-regarded player for the future of the club, he has been unable to ever make a full break-through into the Whites' senior set up in seasons gone by.
The England youth international did score for Leeds, the first goal of his professional career, in an FA Cup tie against Cardiff City in January 2023, but never got onto the pitch in the Premier League, and then experienced a disappointing loan spell at Oxford United last season, where he was recalled in the January window due to a lack of game-time.
Perkins joined Orient on a season-long loan back in June, and he has grown into his spell at Brisbane Road to become one of Richie Wellens' key men as the O's make a surprise push for the League One play-offs this term, and as a result, reports have now emerged that he is set to join his loan club on a permanent deal before the winter window slams shut.
Perkins began his spell with Leyton Orient on the bench in the early parts of the season, but he has become an important part of their side in recent months, with four goals and six assists in 29 games in all competitions up to now.
LeedsLive claimed earlier in the week that his season-long loan at Brisbane Road was set to become a permanent move, with the Whites looking to cash in due to his contract being up at the end of the campaign, and a substantial sell-on clause set to be included in the deal.
With next Monday's deadline now fast approaching, Football Insider's Pete O'Rourke has reported that the 20-year-old is now understood to have agreed a permanent move to Orient, and his two-and-a-half year spell in West Yorkshire looks set to come to an end soon.
Our Whites fan pundit, Kris Smith, is disappointed that Perkins has not been able to make his mark on the Leeds' first team in his time at the club, but his permanent exit comes as little surprise this month, given his current ability and their aims to return to the Premier League this season.
“I think you’ve got to commend the club’s efforts for constantly looking at youth squads across the country and trying to find these undervalued signings like Sonny Perkins," Kris told FLW.
“Perkins was a shrewd little buy when we first got him. When he came into the under-21’s squad, alongside the emerging Mateo Joseph, both of them looked destined to be key forwards for Leeds in the future.
“Obviously, the step up from youth football to senior level is absolutely massive, and can’t really be understated.
“I think that is proven by Perkins’ inability to break into Daniel Farke’s plans. Obviously he is only 20-years-old, so there is plenty of time for him to find his feet in the coming seasons to show why Leeds invested in him.
“A footballer’s development isn’t linear, so he might be a late bloomer, but he is never going to fulfil that potential while on Leeds’ books.
“We just simply don’t have the time or patience to give him the minutes that he definitely needs. I think heading to League One permanently with Leyton Orient is probably ideal for him.
“He’s getting senior exposure in a play-off push at the moment, and it’s a club that he has clearly got a strong connection with, having been there in his youth days.
“For Leeds, though, adding a sell-on clause isn’t bad business either. We know that we’re not getting much of a fee for him up-front, but if he does start to show that potential and that quality that everyone thinks he has got, then we will be able to profit from it.”
Leeds have not particularly been in a position to hand consistent chances to young players over the last few years, with the club either fighting for promotion to the top-flight or battling to avoid relegation to the second-tier, and so it always seemed unlikely that a player like Perkins was going to become a regular at Elland Road.
Despite that, he did begin his Whites career how he would have liked to continue it, with his first goal coming in only his second senior appearance against Cardiff in the FA Cup as he stepped off the bench to net an added-time winner to send the tie to a replay.
After Leeds suffered relegation to the Championship at the end of 2022/23, he looked set to be a part of Daniel Farke's squad for last season after making his first league appearance for the club as a substitute on the opening day against Cardiff, but he was instead loaned to Oxford, which was a move that did not work out for any party involved.
That spell looks to have effectively all but ended his Leeds career, as by the time he was recalled last January and sent back to the under-21's to complete the remainder of the season, his former academy teammate Mateo Joseph was a consistent fixture in Farke's squad and impressing off the bench.
The likes of Joel Piroe, Patrick Bamford and Spaniard Joseph have been Farke's main strike options over the last 12 months, and while fellow frontman Joe Gelhardt has had to seek a loan move away this month to increase his own minutes, there seems little chance that Perkins is going to break through anytime soon.
With that said, and given that he is clearly enjoying his time back in his home city with Orient, it seems like an absolute no-brainer for this move to happen, and if it is confirmed soon, Perkins will be pleased that his future is set to be sorted so he can focus on helping Richie Wellens' side achieve an unlikely promotion to the Championship this season.