Izzy Brown has not been paid a penny by Leeds United since joining the club on loan from Chelsea in the summer, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The newspaper claim the Premier League giants have been footing the entirety of the bill for the 21-year-old while he works his way back to full fitness after suffering a cruciate knee ligament injury earlier this year.
The Telegraph report the Blues “engineered a solution by agreeing a season-long loan with Leeds on the basis they would continue to pay Brown until he is fit”, which means the point he is “ready to be part of the 18-man matchday squad”.
OPINION
This is a great deal for all parties, and mitigated the risk for Leeds in signing a player who joined on deadline day while still recovering from a serious injury. Brown has yet to make a Marcelo Bielsa senior squad, although he has had a number of run-outs for the Under-23s, while he works his way back from the ACL tear. As the Telegraph report, there has been clear and direct communication between the medical staffs of the two clubs over Brown’s recovery and the great thing for Leeds is that the 21-year-old has been training with his Elland Road teammates and getting used to the requirements of Bielsa. He is no raw rookie, either. Brown has 81 first-team appearances under his belt, only one of which has come at Chelsea, with the rest accruing from successful spells at Huddersfield, Rotherham, Brighton and Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem. Once he gets fully up to speed, Brown can make a big impression for Leeds in the second half of the season in one of the attacking midfield slots behind the main striker.