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Samu Saiz signed for Leeds United in July 2017 from Huesca, and enjoyed the best possible start.

Around a month later he made his debut against Port Vale, and scored a hat-trick in a 4-1 victory. That season he finished with nine goals and eight assists, which wasn’t a bad return, especially given he received an extended suspension after spitting at an opposition player.

The next season didn’t go so well, and when he decided he had to leave Elland Road in December 2018, he hadn’t scored a single Championship goal.

So much was Saiz’s desire to return to Spain, he left midway through the month for a loan at Getafe, despite the club not being able to register him until January.

Failing to make his mark at the La Liga club, the player’s agents needed to find a new home for his campaign, with a return to playing at Leeds United unlikely.

Signing for FC Girona, Saiz dropped down to the second division, where it would have been hoped he could return to his Huesca form. It hasn’t happened, and the 29 year old is struggling for form and minutes.

However, things improved on Saturday 8th February as he scored a goal, his first of the season, to give Girona a 1-0 victory… against Huesca.

Speaking to Catalonia’s L’Esportiu, Saiz had it put to him that he celebrated, and he replied: “I wanted to score a goal. I hadn’t got any. Sorry about the celebration because it was against a club that gave me so much, so I apologised in the end. Maybe I was wrong given what Huesca meant to me, but it was the 94th minute, a very important victory for Girona, my first goal here… and the celebration was a reflection of how I felt in that moment.”

Later in the interview, L’Esportiu put a very direct question to the player: ‘How far is the current Samu Saiz from that player who dazzled at Huesca in the 2016/17 season and was worth signing for Leeds United?’

Ouch.

He replied: “My goal is to give my best level. I do not look at the past. I know that if I reach my best version I will help my colleagues. The best thing about football is going out on the pitch and having fun playing on it.”