Leeds United braced for 10th exit after transfer's double U-turn in the past week

A whirlwind week for Charlie Cresswell looks like it will now end with a move away from Leeds United. The 21-year-old’s transfer to Toulouse in France is seemingly back on after he initially pulled the plug on the move at the 11th hour.

Cresswell had been on the other side of the Channel last weekend for talks with the Ligue 1 outfit after they had agreed a fee with the Whites. The centre-back eventually felt it was not to his liking and reported for pre-season at Thorp Arch this week, but now seems to have had another change of heart.

With agreed terms still established between Leeds and Toulouse, there will be no snags at club level for the transfer. Personal terms should be straightforward too.

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The move comes less than 12 months after Cresswell signed a four-year contract with Leeds. The Whites were asking for £4m to secure their centre-back’s services in January and it is understood the Ligue 1 outfit have agreed to a deal in that region.

United’s relegation in 2023 was thought to be Cresswell’s ticket to regular minutes for his boyhood club. However, Joe Rodon quickly established himself as the club’s premier centre-back after arriving on loan and Cresswell began to miss out on matchday squads, not even making the bench.

In January, his omission from a heavily-rotated FA Cup line-up at Peterborough United left the writing on the wall. Farke would admit the defender was unhappy with his lack of opportunities, while the manager had not been impressed with his attitude in training.

Clubs were invited to bid for Cresswell, but none met United’s £4m demands and he stayed after clearing the air with Farke. Cresswell returned to matchday squads for the rest of the season, but he ended the year with 137 league minutes.

That was less than Ian Poveda (who left in January), Luis Sinisterra (who left in September) and Joe Gelhardt among many others. After signing his new contract last August, Cresswell said: “I’m still young, I’m only 20, I’m delighted and happy to be here and it shows the confidence the club and staff have in me by giving me this deal and hopefully I can repay the faith this season.

“I want to play a big part this season, I want to achieve big things in front of the fans and make the people around me proud.”