Former England international Jamie Redknapp has admitted that he cannot understand why Eddie Nketiah's time on loan at Leeds United during the first half of the campaign failed to get off the ground.
The Whites, who welcome Fulham to Elland Road for a crunch Championship promotion clash tomorrow afternoon, won the race to sign the highly-rated Arsenal striker last summer, signing him on a season-long loan.
His arrival in West Yorkshire was greeted with excitement from the Elland Road terraces, as Marcelo Bielsa had been able to lure one of the Premier League's most exciting young prospects to boost the club's promotion charge.
However, Nketiah, who scored during Arsenal's 2-0 win over Southampton yesterday evening, struggled to have the impact that many had hoped for, scoring just five goals in 19 appearances in all competitions.
The striker's chances of making an impact, though, did prove limited because of Bielsa's reluctance to drop Patrick Bamford, with the Arsenal striker starting just one Championship game before cutting the loan short in January.
Nketiah has since returned to the Emirates Stadium and forced his way into Mikel Arteta's plans, scoring four goals in 10 appearances.
Having shown such promise for the Gunners since his return back in January, Sky Sports pundit Redknapp is baffled as to why it did not work out for him at Elland Road.
"Incredible, it really is. It makes you wonder why it didn't work out for him at Leeds," Redknapp told Sky Sports during the coverage of the Gunners' 2-0 win against Southampton yesterday. "What I like most about that interview is he said I like to be a nuisance.
"Because a lot of players want to be silky and show their class, show their elegance.
"He knows that if he does that, he can make it at the top level. He starts the press like he said, he's the first to go and close the centre-backs, Sol knows what it's like.
"If you've got a striker that lets you have it, doesn't put you under any pressure, that's the dream.
"When you've got someone like that breathing down your neck, it becomes a different proposition when someone is chasing you down and making it hard for you."
