Ex-Leeds United forward Jermaine Beckford hosted a recent edition of TalkSPORT’s GameDay podcast which reflected on the Whites’ 16-year absence from the Premier League and the former Jamaica international spent some time discussing how he learned that the Yorkshire-based club were interested in signing him in 2006, explaining that he almost joined Watford.
Beckford was described as a ‘cult hero’ during his time at Elland Road and the ex-forward scored 84 goals and provided 11 assists in his 147 appearances in all competitions during his time as a Whites player.
During his appearance on a recent edition of TalkSPORT’s GameDay podcast, Beckford revealed how he originally learned about the Whites’ interest in signing him back in 2006 and he talked about how close he came to joining Watford prior to that.
Beckford said: “I could have been wearing the gold shirts of Watford. I had been training with Watford and [Hornets manager] Aidy Boothroyd, after my second training session, decided to offer me a contract.
“I said I’m going to give my agent a call and have him with me while I signed it and when I did give him a call, he said to me – that’s great, however, there was one more club that were interested in me and that was Leeds United.
“It was a very easy decision for me to make but it was a very difficult conversation to have with Aidy Boothroyd. He understood what my position was and he understood why I had to join Leeds United. He wasn’t happy – don’t get me wrong – but he understood.”
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Considering the ‘rich history‘ of Leeds United, as well as the fact that Leeds had competed in England’s top-flight more recently than Watford at the time that Beckford joined the club, it may be understandable why the ex-forward felt that “it was a very easy decision” for him to join the Whites rather than Watford, despite the fact that he had been training with the Hornets and had been offered a contract by the club.