Striker Habib Habibou has admitted “it was a very bad idea” for him to join Leeds United earlier in his career, claiming it is one of his two biggest regrets to date.
Habibou has enjoyed a varied career so far, starting at PSG U19 set up before playing for the likes of Charleroi, Zulte Waregem, KAA Gent, Rennes and Qatar SC to name a few of them.
Leeds can also be found on the list of his former clubs, with the striker moving to Elland Road on loan from Zulte Waregem in the 2013 January transfer window.
The move proved to be something of a disastrous one as he managed just four appearances and 77 minutes of action before the end of the season.
Predictably the deal was not turned into a permanent one and he returned to Zulte Waregem before being sold on to KAA Gent the following January.
That unsuccessful spell at Leeds led to something of a downturn for Habibou, who is currently without a club after playing for no fewer than seven teams since returning from that spell at Elland Road.
It’s not a period he looks back at fondly and admits the move is among his two biggest regrets from his career so far.
“I wanted to leave Zulte Waregem in the January 2013 transfer window when I was already at 13 goals and I was a hit,” he told DH.
“West Ham were on it. I even waited in a hotel in Canary Wharf in London for the transfer to be formalised, but agents screwed up the deal at the last minute and everything was cancelled.
“When I got back to Waregem, I forced myself to leave anyway. Playing in England was my dream. I signed in Leeds in the Championship, and it was a very bad idea. If I had stayed at Zulte, I think we would have won the title and I could have made a better transfer afterwards.
“The other regret is having left Gent too quickly, at the end of the 2014 summer transfer window, the title season. I was happy to sign at Rennes, but I should have persevered in Gent.”
