'I was actually going to Leeds': £1.6m man on Arsenal books almost made Whites move in 2022

'I was actually going to Leeds': £1.6m man on Arsenal books almost made Whites move in 2022

Out-on-loan Arsenal defender Auston Trusty has told Troy Deeney’s podcast that he almost joined Leeds United before completing a move to The Gunners in 2022 – since going out on loan to Championship side Birmingham.

Trusty, 24, has enjoyed an interesting career to date. Coming through the ranks at Philadelphia Union, he clocked up 62 senior outings for the MLS side. In 19 of those matches, he shared the pitch with Leeds star Brenden Aaronson.

Colorado swooped late in 2019 and his form there eventually saw Arsenal come calling in January 2022. He went back on loan for the second half of the 2021-22 season. Then, in the summer, he joined Deeney’s Birmingham side.

He has been a regular for the Blues since joining on loan last summer, clocking up 42 games already. Indeed, he has started all but one of Birmingham’s 39 League games – scoring four goals for the Midlands side from centre-back.

It is unclear what his Arsenal future holds – and he is more than likely a player that has been signed with a view to making a profit on him. But, Trusty’s form has been good at Birmingham. It could have been very different, though.

“I had a few teams [interested], I was actually going to Leeds,” Trusty told the Deeney Talks podcast. “Then Arsenal came in and I basically said, ‘make this happen.’ I let my agent do all that kind of stuff and I just focus on football.”

Arsenal defender Trusty says he almost joined Leeds before Gunners

So, a reunion with Aaronson was almost on the cards. He even made his USA debut in the last international break, starting alongside Adams and Weston McKennie. Tyler Adams, of course, was missing in the 7-1 win over Grenada.

Would £1.6m Trusty have got in at Leeds? He would certainly have had more chance of doing so than at Arsenal. Indeed, the Gunners have signed Jakub Kiwior in the January window. Leeds might have offered him game time.