Lee Erwin is a wanted man, just not by Leeds United

Lee Erwin is having a roller-coaster of a week.

After scoring in the victory against Harrogate Town in the team’s first friendly, and then pitching in two goals against AFC Guiseley in the 5-1 Leeds United win over the Vanarama National League side on Saturday, he was dropped from the team for the friendly against North Ferriby United Wednesday and told he was no longer in the long-term plans for the club and free to find a new club.

Ouch.

Lee Erwin’s Leeds career never took off at Leeds after his move to the team in the summer of 2015 from Scottish side Motherwell. While he got 11 league games to prove himself in the 2015-16 season at Leeds, with two starts, he never managed to find the back of the net. Sent to Bury on loan for a short spell in 2015-16, he appeared three times without scoring a goal for the League One side.

For the 2016-17 season, Erwin was sent on loan to Oldham Athletic, and failed to appear for Leeds United at all. While at Oldham, he scored eight goals in 25 appearances for the League One club. Despite the increased scoring rate, and the showing in preseason, it appears that his time at Leeds is over.

Fear not for Erwin, as it seems that his goal scoring record in League One has attracted the attention of five different clubs. Teamtalk is reporting that in addition to Oldham, where he enjoyed a fine loan spell, MK Dons, Charlton Athletic, Walsall, and Plymouth are all interested in the 23 year-old striker. And while the club has allowed Erwin to leave on a free transfer, Leeds are interested in a sell-on clause for the Scottish striker.

It makes the most sense for Erwin to end up at Oldham Athletic, given that he seemed to flourish on loan at the club and he knows the manager, the team, the ground, and the fans, so that’s probably where he will end up. However, money usually talks in these kind of situations, so who knows what will actually happen. Either way, it appears that some of the fringe first team players are being allowed to leave with the club bringing in a number of new signings during the summer transfer window. MOT