Pierre-Michel Lasogga’s career is up, down and all over the place, and his time at Leeds United is a microcosm of that.
At one point Lasogga was quickly on his way to becoming a hero at Elland Road and the idea was he’d fire them to Premier League promotion, but then were dry spells in front of goal and the fairytale didn’t happen.
When the striker was sent to Leeds on loan it was very much because Hamburg didn’t want him around and certainly wanted rid of his wages, or as much of them as possible.
The idea was the Championship club would sign him permanently and relieve HSV of the final year of contract, and there were even claims of interest from the Premier League. Returning to Hamburg, who were facing relegation, was considered impossible.
But Lasogga has stated he chose to go back to his parent club rather than push to sign for Leeds or move elsewhere. There didn’t appear any real attempt from the club in the summer, but the player insists the return was his decision, telling SportBild: “It was a great experience as a person to play abroad. I am very grateful to Leeds and have the time absolutely positive in my head.
“For me, it was soon clear that I wanted to go back to HSV. I did not just sign for five years. I see it as a duty to help this club. When I had to watch relegation from the sofa, I was speechless. That really took me along, including my family. Everyone was sad, could not believe it.”
With six goals and two assists in Bundesliga 2 so far this season, Lasogga has helped his side to the top of the table.
