Ex-Celtic striker convinced player to quit Rangers as messages revealed

Glen Kamara has revealed that having to train alone during pre-season with Rangers was difficult for him before his move to Leeds United was confirmed.
This happened after Michael Beale decided Kamara was not in his plans and excluded him from first-team training on August 31 to force his transfer.

Kamara also shared a phone call from former Celtic player Teemu Pukki, who convinced him to move from Ibrox to Leeds after a glowing review from manager Daniel Farke.

The Finnish midfielder was speaking to the Official Leeds United podcast with quotes shared by the Scottish Sun [15 November] when he revealed: “The first couple of weeks [at Leeds] it was quite hard. I was just getting my fitness back and I hadn’t played a lot.

“I was kind of training on my own away from Rangers, so it was quite tough. But it’s good now and I’m feeling settled. I feel like I am getting back to myself and playing more games than I have over the last year.

“[Teemu Pukki] messaged me and had a word with me. He only had good things to say about the manager. I was like okay, I’m excited and after I spoke to the manager, it just confirmed what he said.”

Kamara was a fan favourite during Steven Gerrard’s time at the club, with his role in the midfield of the title-winning side earning him high praise from the Ibrox crowd for the important role he played in preventing their Old Firm rivals from winning the fabled ten in a row.

His exit felt forced and strange with Beale completely freezing him out of all first-team training in pre-season despite a move taking its time to materialise, which in turn meant Kamara struggled to find his feet when he arrived at Elland Road.

Ultimately the call was made by the former boss in an attempt to overhaul his squad and create a drastic change which completely backfired as his new arrivals failed to perform to the required level and ended up with his sacking after just a few months.

The treatment of Kamara after what he gave to the club and particularly his role in winning a 54th title at Ibrox came as a surprise at the time, and there were clearly some hard feelings there.