Leeds United's top-flight status was hanging by a thread on the final day of the 2021/22 campaign. The Premier League dream had sucked them in and could’ve very well spat them back out again had they not avoided defeat at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium.
The sun shone down on the 1,725 away supporters situated in the East Stand. Nervous anticipation filled the air and the announcement of Sam Greenwood being handed his first Premier League start in a game of such magnitude did little to ease those concerns.
Greenwood had shown glimpses of his quality with the rare opportunities he had received in the first team. He had played a minor role in helping propel his side to a mammoth comeback at Molineux – setting up Rodrigo’s equaliser as Leeds came from two goals behind to win 3-2 courtesy of Luke Ayling’s dramatic stoppage time winner.
He then marked his next cameo from the bench with another assist for Jack Harrison, as he added the finishing touches to a 3-0 victory over Watford at Vicarage Road. But with Leeds’ Premier League status hanging by the thinnest of threads, Jesse Marsch had made a bold decision by naming the 20-year-old in his starting line-up.
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“Sam Greenwood has been great. I think he's ready for this moment,” Marsch explained ahead of the game. “I don't think anyone in the team is surprised that that decision has been made and we expect him to be ready to go.”
Spearheaded by the faith of his manager, Greenwood soon alleviated the excruciating tension with a string of tidy passes. His confidence grew as each minute passed and before long the youngster was acting as the orchestrator in the heart of midfield.
Kalvin Phillips, barely back from a season of relentless injury issues, read the game with such intelligence that Greenwood was able to run the show. His maturity shone through during his 85 minutes on the pitch, and Marsch’s decision proved an inspired one as Leeds clinched safety with a late yet priceless 2-1 win.
“He played a part last year in the team and did well whenever he was asked to play,” Leeds midfielder Jamie Shackleton observes. “The game at Brentford at the end of the season when he played in centre midfield, I thought he was brilliant that day.
“Sam was a big reason as to why the game turned out the way it did. He showed that he is capable of putting in a performance at that level. You’re talking about a huge occasion with a lot of pressure attached to it.”
Born in Sunderland, Greenwood grew up in Murton, Durham, just a 15-minute commute from the Black Cats’ grand 48,000 seater stadium. His precocious talent attracted glances from his hometown club, and Greenwood was quickly enrolled into the Sunderland academy at the age of six.
His childhood was spent watching Sunderland negotiate their way to safety time and time again in the Premier League. He and his father both had season tickets at the Stadium of Light and witnessed Paolo Di Canio’s touchline tantrums, Jordan Henderson’s remarkable rise, and Asamoah Gyan’s delightful dance moves.
If he wasn’t watching from the stands then Greenwood was doing everything in his power to emulate those he watched every other weekend on Wearside.
“He used to practice at the barn at Sunderland every day,” ex-Black Cats scholar Tom Howard reveals. “Practicing free-kicks and corners with both feet, and it worked in games as he scored a lot from set pieces. He wanted to be the best he possibly could and it set a very good example.
“Doing extra training, constantly practicing. I know there are people that are good at football but it was his love for the game that’s helped him get where he is. The absolute enjoyment he gets from practicing and the rewards that it generates.”
Greenwood joined his fellow Sunderland academy teammates Dan Neil and Bali Mumba at local club Hebburn Town Juniors. He would combine training at the Academy of Light with weekly games for Hebburn alongside extra personalised training.
“He didn’t really sign for our club until he was an under-nine because he was quite rightly at another club,” his ex-youth coach Stephen Rutherford explains. “Dan Neil, Bali Mumba and my own son played in a team together that came up against Sam.
“They were the top two teams in their competitions so we knew a little bit about him already. His desire was one of the first things that stood out. He was a good player, even at that young age, but he had a huge amount of desire to win the ball and had a great goal scoring ability.
“Then he continued to progress and develop those qualities. Sam would never rest on his laurels. He would do academy training, club training and additional, more personalised training. It was all done with the intention of honing in his skillset and getting better at what he did.”
Greenwood rocketed through the ranks, and had Manchester United and Arsenal knocking on his door following a return of 21 goals in 26 games for Sunderland under-16s and under-18s combined. He was offered scholarship terms by his hometown club, but opted for a new challenge.
“I wanted and felt like I was ready for a new challenge. I had quite a lot of interest from other clubs, but the only concrete thing I heard about was Arsenal. I didn’t look back from there,” Greenwood told Secret Scout in May 2020.
At the age of 16, Greenwood uprooted from Sunderland to St Albans, and lived with fellow scholar Alfie Matthews and the club’s landlady Rachel. His father travelled tirelessly to support his son, but Greenwood initially found it difficult to adjust after his switch to the capital.
“I was both excited and apprehensive about coming down from Sunderland to join Arsenal,” Greenwood revealed in a feature for Arsenal’s matchday programme in 2018. “Leaving my town, friends and family was quite daunting. It felt like a big task, but I was keen to push myself and now that I’m here I feel fully settled.
“Even where I live in digs in St Albans, it feels busier than back home. I live in the home of our landlady Rachel with Alfie Matthews, who is also a scholar. That’s been a big help because we talk about all things football and support each other.”
Arsenal boasted a star-studded academy, which included the likes of Folarin Balogun, Yunus Musah and Bukayo Saka. Greenwood played on the right of a deadly attacking trio comprising of Trae Coyle on the left, and Balogun at the focal point of attack.
Balogun notched a formidable total of 25 goals in 19 games, while Greenwood (10) and Coyle (eight) netted 18 combined. Arsenal cruised to the Under-18 Premier League North title with 20 wins from 22 games – scoring an astonishing 86 goals in the process (an average of 3.9 goals per game).
“He was a versatile player and was one of the driving forces in our team that year,” Arsenal under-21 goalkeeper Tom Smith recalls.
“With some of the competition that there was around at Arsenal, it shows a lot about him that he managed to get in and stay in for the majority of the year. Throughout the season, he scored many goals and no matter who we played, we didn’t let off.
“We just carried on playing the same way against the top teams to the lower teams. He was testament to that in terms of how he approached every single game as if it was the most important game ever.”
Greenwood translated his success with the Gunners onto the international stage with a remarkable record for England under-17s. He scored 12 goals in 14 matches at that level, including three goals at the 2019 Under-17 European Championships.
His second season at Arsenal had not quite matched the heights of his first, and Greenwood found himself fluctuating between the under-18 and under-21 squad. He scored five goals in 15 appearances for the under-18s, and was reduced to just 135 minutes in the Premier League 2 for the under-21s.
This prompted the next defining moment in his career when he left Arsenal to chase first team football at Leeds United.
“I just got on with my football down there. It was a massive difference moving from Sunderland to London. A totally different world,” Greenwood later revealed to The Athletic.
“Coming from Arsenal to here [Leeds], there isn’t too much difference but I get a lot more opportunities here. I wasn’t as close to the first team at Arsenal as I am here. So it’s been a good decision for me.”
Ex-team-mate Smith commends Greenwood for his brave decision to challenge himself at Thorp Arch.
“On paper you’re saying that going from Arsenal to Leeds is maybe a step downwards, but Leeds are a huge club,” Smith added. “Sam recognised that there was going to be a lot of competition at Arsenal and at some point you’re going to have to take an opportunity that comes up.
“He felt he could go and make an impression there. It was a risk but for someone with his attitude and application, it was one that if anyone was going to make it work, it was going to be him. The style that Leeds have been playing over the past few years really suits him. That aggressive pressure, lots of running, which is him down to a T.”
Greenwood hit the ground running for Leeds – scoring five goals in his first four games in the Premier League 2, including a hat-trick on his old stomping ground against his hometown club Sunderland in a 3-1 victory.
He showcased his versatility by either leading the line or operating in the heart of midfield. This is something that has been encouraged by both Marcelo Bielsa and Marsch at Thorp Arch, and was a factor behind Greenwood being promoted into the first team squad.
“I know Jesse did the same, but Marcelo often played players in different positions that he thought had the skillset to show what they could do there,” Shackleton explains. “Sam played a few games in midfield but he’s very comfortable on the ball, he’s got a great passing range and he’s got traits that suit midfield. But he’s also a top finisher as well, which he’s got from his time playing up front.
“It increases your chances of being on the pitch and playing, just the fact that you’re an option in multiple positions. It shows that you’re switched on and that you’ve got the knowledge of the game to be able to play two positions. There’s different roles in and out of possession that you need to understand and he’s obviously more than capable of doing that.”
Greenwood made his senior debut from the bench in a humiliating 3-0 defeat at League Two side Crawley Town in the FA Cup third round. But while his first team bow had been far from ideal, Greenwood returned to familiar terrain to help Leeds under-23s lift the Premier League 2 title.
He marked his debut season in West Yorkshire with 12 goals in 18 appearances, and notched five in his last four to spearhead the Whites to a triumphant campaign. Bielsa named Greenwood in his squad to face rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford, although he wasn’t called upon by the Argentine. Nevertheless, Greenwood was edging closer to the first team set-up. He featured on a number of occasions during pre-season in the summer of 2021, and unleashed a free-kick into the top corner as a youthful Leeds’ line-up defeated AFC Guiseley 3-2.
Mark Jackson took charge of the Whites on that occasion, and played an instrumental role in his development at Thorp Arch. Greenwood made his Premier League debut as he was presented a 12-minute cameo from the bench in a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Arsenal in December 2021. He also starred in cup defeats against Arsenal and West Ham in the EFL Cup and FA Cup respectively, but his breakthrough came when Marsch replaced Bielsa in the dugout at Elland Road. The American also installed a familiar face to his backroom staff with Jackson stepping up to the role of assistant.
“Jacko [Mark Jackson] is one of my favourite coaches that I’ve worked under at the academy,” Shackleton says. “He had that link between the under-23s and the first team, and any under-23s that do make the step-up have a familiar face to rely upon.”
Greenwood is far from finished in his development but he has made inroads into the first team this term. He has registered 17 appearances across all competitions, and scored his first Premier League goal as Leeds came from two goals behind to beat AFC Bournemouth 4-3 at Elland Road in November.
And for those that have watched his journey from the very start, there will always be a sense of pride that Greenwood is playing on football’s grandest stage.
“We say to the younger kids, if you put the work in, if you work hard and you’ve got the right attitude then this is what you can become,” Hebburn Town CEO and former coach Rutherford concludes. “Any player for our club that has that opportunity we try to follow them as close as we can. I am really proud to see a player that I have coached playing at the highest level.”
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