Ex-Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United man reveals shock new club | OneFootball

Former Leeds United and Sheffield Wednesday winger Ian Poveda has departed Sunderland to seal a shock switch elsewhere

One-time wing prodigy Ian Poveda has endured a mixed career to date after completing his senior footballing breakthrough at Leeds United, having once been tipped to enjoy glittering fortunes.

The Southwark-born two-cap Colombia international was schooled at the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and even Barcelona during his academy days before joining Manchester City, where he solidified his reputation as one of the premiere youth talents of his age.

Poveda then moved across the Pennines to sign for Leeds United, where he helped the Whites gain promotion from the Championship and proceeded to make 14 Premier League appearances under Marcelo Bielsa as an impressive ninth-placed finish was secured at Elland Road.

Opportunities were limited, however, especially following the Argentine's shock dismissal the year after, with the highly-rated winger subsequently enduring a series of mixed loan spells in the second-tier with Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool and Sheffield Wednesday.

Poveda left Leeds for nothing in the summer of 2024 to sign for Sunderland, and while the Black Cats enjoyed a stunning promotion-winning campaign through the play-offs, the ex-Man City academy star's contributions were minimal.

He would fail to start, score or assist in any of his six league appearances on Wearside, which were spread across a mere total of 81 minutes, and was banished from the first-team set-up by Regis Le Bris owing to disciplinary issues.

Poveda's last outing, as fate would have it, came in Sunderland's dramatic 2-1 defeat at Leeds just over twelve months ago, and after falling drastically out of favour at the Stadium of Light, the Colombian forward has now moved on to a shock new club to end his north-east nightmare.

Ex-Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday man Ian Poveda joins shock new club in Colombia

The 26-year-old had fallen dramatically down Sunderland's pecking order, meaning the Black Cats' decision to sanction a departure came as no surprise to supporters.

Poveda's destination, however, may shock those both on Wearside and beyond, with Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday fans also likely to be taken aback considering the regard in which the winger was held in at the two Yorkshire outfits.

That's because it has been confirmed that Poveda has left Sunderland on a permanent transfer to join Internacional de Bogota of the Colombian top-flight, in a move which is perhaps symbolic of the former England youth international's drastic fall from grace.

Poveda's new club are currently positioned at the summit of the table after nine games and the tricky wide-man will be hoping to accelerate their title-winning efforts in the coming weeks and months.

It's a first senior move outside of England for Poveda, who many may have expected to return to the EFL with either a Championship or League One club.

Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how the ex-prodigy fares over in Colombia at a stage where he desperately needs to reignite his career, and given his two existing caps for the South American nation, the move certainly makes sense on a personal note.

Ex-Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday man Ian Poveda's Colombia transfer shows fall from grace

It's a telling sign of Poveda's fallen stock that, at a perceived prime age of 26, he's now finding himself playing top division football in Colombia following a litany of underwhelming stints in the Championship.

Sheffield Wednesday perhaps saw the best of the fleet-footed attacker, who posted zero goals and just one assist from his ten matches on loan in the second-half of the 2023/24 campaign but did offer signs of excitement and buzz during better times for the Owls under Danny Rohl as they secured a dramatic survival.

Injuries have plagued Poveda's progression, too, notably getting in the way of a loan spell at Blackburn which had initially provided serious encouragement, but he's really lost his way in recent times and had a viable opportunity to show his worth at Sunderland before falling out of favour.

His career certainly isn't over just yet, and Leeds and Wednesday supporters in particular may now be hoping Poveda can knuckle down and begin to enjoy his football once again all the way over in the Colombian capital.