Paul Heckingbottom has revealed that decisions still need to be made on the future of loan players away from Leeds United, including the likes of Marcus Antonsson.
After a mediocre debut campaign at Elland Road last year, Antonsson was loaned to Blackburn Rovers last summer, with the striker spending the year on-loan in League One.
Antonsson, 26, has scored eight goals whilst on-loan at Ewood Park, including seven in the league, helping Rovers clinch promotion back to the Championship.
The Swedish striker is one of a number of players away from Elland Road on-loan, with Heckingbottom facing questions regarding the promotion-winning forward.
Speaking to Leeds Live, Heckingbottom said: “It's difficult when you look at all the players to get around them all.
“We've made sure we've been in contact with all of them and spoken to them, which they appreciated, but our focus has been on these players that we've had in our building.
“So yeah, decisions on those we'll have to look at them and see, chat with them, see what they're thinking and take it from there.”
Antonsson featured regularly for Leeds during the first-half of the 2016/17 campaign under Garry Monk, scoring three goals for the Whites before finding his opportunities limited post-Christmas.
Thomas Christiansen, Monk’s predecessor, opted to send Antonsson out on-loan in the summer.
Antonsson, who has a year remaining on his deal at Elland Road, is joined out on-loan by Lewie Coyle, Mateusz Klich, Yosuke Ideguchi and Luke Murphy, who are all contracted beyond the summer.
The Verdict
Leeds have some big decisions to make in the summer with no just their current squad, but also the players they have out on-loan, including Antonsson.
Antonsson has had a steady year with Blackburn, where he will have adapted well to English football at a lower level.
Whether the likes of Antonsson, Murphy and Klich have done enough to earn another chance at Elland Road remains to be seen.
Ideguchi is yet to feature for the Whites, whilst Coyle's impressive year with Fleetwood is likely to be rewarded with a first-team chance.
Leeds fans… Let us know your thoughts!
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