Harry Leonard says a chat with Sam Szmodics convinced him to join Peterborough United after deciding to leave Blackburn Rovers.
Leonard said goodbye to Ewood Park after 12 years at the club, graduating to the first team after coming through the Academy. He was initially set to go on loan before Posh submitted an offer to sign him permanently.
It was a difficult decision for the 21-year-old but one he felt he had to make after spending the summer training with the Under-21s. A chat with the Posh hierarchy and former Rover Szmodics, convinced him to commit his future to Peterborough.
"It’s been a big change coming to Peterborough. I’d been at Blackburn for a long time, the best part of half of my life," he told Posh Plus.
READ MORE: 'Goalposts were moved' - Callum Brittain opens up on Blackburn Rovers exit
"It was quite nerve-wracking as I’d never been involved in a transfer before, but the lads were very welcoming and I’ve settled in really quickly.
"The environment in the Blackburn Academy was really good. I can’t speak highly enough about my time there. They brought a lot of players through to the first team.
"It was emotional saying my goodbyes, but it’s a step in my career I felt I had to take and Peterborough ticked all the boxes, especially with their record of developing strikers.
"Initially, I was coming here on loan, but I came in from training one day and Blackburn told me Peterborough wanted to sign me permanently. I’d had a lot of loan offers before, but I didn’t want to rush anything.
"I wanted to wait for what felt like the right option and moving to Peterborough just felt right.
"After speaking to the gaffer and to Kieran Scarff, I was sold to be honest, but I also spoke to Sammie Szmodics about the club and he only had good things to say as well. He said it would be a great place to develop my game which only made me more set on coming down here.
"Sammie was a great character and player at Blackburn. He pretty much saved us from relegation and he deserved his move into the Premier League.”
Share