Leeds United have confirmed that young striker Oliver Sarkic has agreed terms on a loan exit to Spanish third division side Barakaldo CF.
The Whites revealed the 21-year-old’s temporary exit on their official Twitter account, with the youngster agreeing to spend the season at the Segunda Division B outfit.
? | Good luck to #LUFC U23s forward Oliver Sarkic who joins @barakaoficial on a season-long loan pic.twitter.com/BFICbmudL6
— Leeds United (@LUFC) September 1, 2018
Sarkic, who originally arrived on loan from Portuguese giants Benfica last summer, signed a permanent deal at Elland Road back in January 2018, agreeing a deal which keeps him committed to the club until 2020, Leeds possessing a contract extension clause which could see it extended by another year.
Opinion
This is a really weird exit for the young striker, for what is he really going to learn by spending time in Spain’s third tier? He is not the only Leeds player to make the move to the division, and there must be something that Marcelo Bielsa or Victor Orta sees in sending them to Spain which will be beneficial for their development. At 21, Sarkic is hardly the youngest talent and there will be questions over why he was not sent to a lower ranked team in England rather than abroad to try and get the game time the club will be wanting him to pick up. Still, the Whites have made the decision, and with a long term contract penned earlier this year they obviously have high hopes for his future. Whether he can show what he has got at Barakaldo remains to be seen, but whatever he does in Spain’s third division will not be comparable to how he would perform in the Championship.