Talks with Leeds United Championship rival a timely chance for 'trapped' attacker to justify hype

Maybe it's his diminutive stature, his baby face demeanour or perhaps he's been trapped in the status of an upcoming youngster by his lack of involvement at Leeds and words that follow him around like 'potential' but Poveda is no longer the kid that arrived at Elland Road. Then he was 19, fresh out of Manchester City academy and brought into the fold by Marcelo Bielsa - the kind of seal of approval that will light a fire under any prospect and his profile. The Argentine's quote about never before seeing the physical resources possessed by Poveda was praise of the highest standard.

But it never happened, it never clicked. Obvious skill, talent and potential never bore fruit. He gave Benjamin Mendy a torrid time of it in a thrilling 1-1 draw with his former club Manchester City and never followed it up, never sustained it. There were glimpses, there were injuries, there was frustration. There was a timekeeping issue that senior players sought to address and, to Poveda's credit, Patrick Bamford later said the winger had resolved it and turned a corner. Rather than kicking on with Leeds, though, he ended up on loan at Blackburn Rovers and then at Blackpool where there were glimpses, injuries and frustration.

Last summer felt very much like Poveda was drinking in the Leeds United last-chance saloon when he returned for pre-season training, but despite the usual talk of MLS and LaLiga 2 interest that always seemed to crop up in transfer windows without ever amounting to anything, he appeared to catch Daniel Farke's eye and actually dug in. The Nottingham Forest pre-season friendly cameo was so impressive that captain Liam Cooper was asked about a possible resurgence for Poveda at Elland Road.

"He has had it tough," said Cooper. "He will tell you himself he’s had it tough. He can be a bit misunderstood at times being a young lad and the way he carries himself. His work rate and you could see tonight, the quality he’s got one v one. I wouldn’t fancy it myself so I don’t know what other people think. He’s a credit to himself, he seems to have turned that corner and he’s got to keep improving now. It’s about being consistent. He’s not a young lad anymore. He’s got to bring that consistency to his game and the manager has shown, if you’re good enough, you’re going to play."

That challenge, laid down by Cooper, was echoed by Farke after the game. "He has to keep going," said the German. "He has to work unbelievably hard. I'm pleased with his development so far and that's the reason why he gets some gametime and some chances but after one or two good games I'm not willing to sing a big song of praise about him, so he has to keep going."

Yet by the time he went to Sheffield Wednesday on loan for the second half of the season, Poveda had made just one start under Farke. Admittedly, the form of Crysencio Summerville, Daniel James and latterly Willy Gnonto made life difficult, and niggles once again had their say, but there were times when Leeds needed something a bit different and Poveda remained on the bench.

There was a brief glimmer of hope that something might spark for him, after a substitute appearance against Rotherham when Farke said: "He looked on it in training, he was creative, he's one of our most creative players, capable to win one-v-one situations. He can provide a spark and a little touch of magic to make something happen with crazy movements, sometimes he doesn't even know which way he's going. When he's really focused he can be there with really good performances. He didn't disappoint me, he got in really good scenes. I was pleased with him."

Once more he was unable to follow it up or sustain it and that January deadline day trip down the M1 to Hillsborough spelled the end of his time at Elland Road. Wednesday fans, like Blackburn and Blackpool fans before them, took to him and his speed and his skill. It was no surprise to learn that the Owls were keen on making the arrangement permanent, once Leeds included him on the list of players to be released at the end of June.

It is also no surprise that there is talk of unnamed interest abroad, as there always seems to be. This time it's from Ligue 1 according to our sister title the Sheffield Star. Even if there is an extensive list of exotic suitors, Poveda could do a lot worse than sticking it out in Yorkshire and making Sheffield Wednesday his home. He's 24 now and will turn 25 next season. For all his ability, the who's who of big clubs on his youth football resume, the high praise from Bielsa and Farke, he will leave Leeds without a senior goal to his name and his 55 Championship career appearances to date, for four clubs, have yielded just 2,276 minutes of action. For context, Ethan Ampadu played 4,140 minutes in the season just gone. What he needs now is football, at a decent level under the watchful eye of Danny Röhl, who earned plenty of plaudits for his impact at Wednesday last season.

What's more, Röhl loves him. He gave the winger eight of his nine starts last season and talked up the quality Poveda brought to the team. He wants to sign him again. But the truth is Poveda has had plenty of love from managers - even his road ban and community service sentence for driving while disqualified failed to draw public criticism from Farke. There might have been a lack of opportunity, at times, at Leeds and sure, injuries have never been far away - that was the case at Wednesday as well - but Poveda will know deep down what it is that he hasn't yet been able to do to become the player so many think he can be. Though it remains at the talks stages, this Wednesday interest feels important and timely in his career. If he can fly with the Owls there might yet be a chance to justify the years of hype, expectation and turn potential into a real career as a footballer.