Sold for £10m, now playing in the Championship: Leeds had a blinder with "special" ace - opinion

When former Leeds United academy starlet Lewis Cook emerged on the scene at Thorp Arch, then manager Dave Hockaday raved about the teenage talent, saying: “if you chopped Lewis’ head off and put an older head on his shoulders, you wouldn’t be surprised”.

It was Hockaday who handed the midfielder his debut and first start for Leeds before he left the club, and Whites fans would surely have been thankful for seeing one of their own being given a genuine opportunity.

After eventually making 85 senior appearances for the Yorkshire club, Leeds eventually cashed in on their young prodigy, with Bournemouth paying a fee rising to £10m to lure him away from Elland Road back in the summer of 2016.

Despite being dubbed as a “special talent” by former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe, Cook’s time at the Vitality Stadium has been absolutely marred by a wretched record of injuries – indeed, earlier last year, he suffered another long-term knee injury which kept him out of first team for the best part of 2021

It’s all meant that the midfielder has played just 140 times for the south coast club in his six years there, and new Bournemouth manager Scott Parker admitted he could empathise with the now 25-year-old.

He said: “I was a player a little while ago and I realise during injuries they’re the worst moments really, when you feel really low. Certainly long-term ones and to go and do the same injury like Lewis has, psychologically that probably would’ve been a big blow for him in that sense.

“I think I see that where he is currently as well. I’m sure it’s been some tough moments for Lewis, just in the nature of two injuries and long-term like they’ve been. But I’ve certainly been impressed with him where he is.”

Cook’s return in the back end