Leeds United youngster Leo Hjelde is making the most of his chance while out on loan at Rotherham United. Hjelde only joined the Millers in January, but he is already a fan favourite at the New York Stadium and he seems to have made an impact in the eight games he has played.
The move to the bottom end of the Championship came about after the 19-year-old had made just two senior outings for Leeds’ first-team this season, both coming in the Carabao Cup under Jesse Marsch. With Hjelde reaching a pivotal point in his fledging career, it was clear he needed more than just the odd morsel of game time at a senior level in order to continue his development and the decision was taken to loan him to Matt Taylor’s Rotherham.
Hjelde was thrown straight into the starting XI by Taylor and on his debut he helped the club to a morale boosting 4-0 win over promotion chasing Blackburn Rovers. He hasn’t looked back from there and he looks set play a key role as the club battle against relegation from the second tier over the next few weeks.
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It’s little wonder Hjelde is loving life in South Yorkshire, then.
“I'm actually enjoying myself very well,” the Norway under-21s international said in an intimate interview with Norwegian publication Dagbladet. “It is of course a completely different league and a different size of the club.
“But I'm playing matches now, at a pretty good level and we've done quite well sportingly too.”
Hjelde is coming to the end of his second year as a Leeds player and he’ll no doubt be hoping to push for more opportunities next season when he eventually returns to Elland Road. The teenager made his debut for the club last year, stepping off the bench to help Leeds to a 3-2 win at the London Stadium over West Ham United.
Another Premier League appearance came a month later at Everton in February 2022. That was his last outing in the top flight and he feels unlucky not to have had more opportunities.
"I felt I had a good flow,” Hjelde added. “Especially with Marcelo (Bielsa), I felt he had quite a lot of confidence in me as a young player and that helps a lot.
“That's where I really thought I should start. But then a scan came back that said I had broken my kneecap. So it was bad timing, and then Jesse Marsch came in and he hadn't seen you when you were well. So it was a bit unfortunate, but that's how football is, it's not something you can do anything about.”
He added: “I got some weird injuries. I removed the tonsils in the pre-season, but I felt I did quite well. Then I got appendicitis after a national team meeting and was out for four weeks I think.
“Then it was a bit difficult to get started again.”
Just like Rotherham in the Championship, Leeds find themselves perched precariously close to the bottom three at present. Hjelde, though, insists relegation has not been spoken about at his parent club.
“We haven't really talked that much about the possibilities if that happens,” he said. “But it's the Premier League, so it's always a possibility. I think it's fine to take it if that time comes, then we'll just have to go through our options and see what's the best choice.”
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