Middlesbrough manager Garry Monk came within inches of leading Leeds United to a playoff finish last term, only to eventually leave Elland Road early in the summer.
The former Swansea boss is now hoping to help his new side return to the Premier League at the first time of asking following last term’s relegation.
Boro are currently 5th on the Championship log, 3 points and 5 places ahead of Leeds, and ahead of Monk’s first visit to Elland Road since his exit, former manager Neil Redfearn believes he knows why the Welshman left.
The new owners brought in Victor Orta as director of football, and according to Redfearn, Monk realized the Spaniard was going to have most of the say on transfers, hence his choosing to leave.
The former manager said on Radio Yorkshire: “At the beginning of the season when everything is fresh and new and [everyone was saying] ‘we are all in it as part of the process and we are bringing players in’. But that’s not true.
“Victor Orta was bringing the players in and I am not sure how much input Thomas Christiansen had in it.
“I think this might be one of the reasons Garry Monk wanted to disappear because he didn’t think he would get the chance to bring the players in [with Orta at the club].
“I get that as how can you be judged as a manager if you didn’t get the chance to bring the players in?”
Despite an impressive start to the campaign, Leeds have since tailed off, leading to criticisms of the club’s summer transfer activities.
Orta and Christiansen both oversaw a massive squad overhaul, and it remains to be seen if the club can keenly challenge for Premier League promotion going forward.
