Last month, Leeds United and Los Angeles FC reached an agreement for the permanent transfer of Mateusz Bogusz.
The attacking midfielder joined the Whites from Ruch Chorzów in 2019 and went on to make only three appearances for the English club’s first team.
During his time at Leeds, he had loan spells at UD Logroñés and UD Ibiza. The 21-year-old joined the latter in the summer of 2021 and his temporary stay there was extended last summer.
The Poland U21 international has now told WP SportoweFakty that he had an opportunity to return to Leeds in January 2022. His return was stopped after he picked up a serious injury the same month.
“The injury thwarted my plans, in a good period in Ibiza I tore ligaments in my knee. I managed to score some nice goals, add a few assists. They liked it in England,” he said.
“I heard that Leeds wanted to get me out of loan early because the first-team coach saw me in the team. I injured my knee in January last year and missed the rest of the season.
“The injury taught me a different approach to the profession, now I work more in the gym, I take better care of myself. Because of what happened, I ended up where I wanted to be.”
Bogusz made his first team debut with Leeds when Marcelo Bielsa was in charge at the club. The Argentine didn’t provide him with regular opportunities, which resulted in him going out on loan to Logroñés in 2020.
When asked if he had no chance to make his way into Leeds’ first team, Bogusz explained: “I’ve been waiting for a debut for a long time. I was on the bench the entire season we got promoted to the Premier League [2019-20] and didn’t come on until the last matchday.
“I was hoping for more than playing for the U23 team, especially after a good pre-season in 2019. I played against Manchester United, I scored a nice goal against Sydney. I expected it to kick off, I was doing well in training. Bielsa said nothing. We had to wait for a chance.”
When asked what was the message from Leeds United last summer, he said: “They said they could sell me and if I wanted I could stay. I didn’t receive information that they needed me for the next season. They gave me a free hand, which also gave me food for thought.”
