Former Leeds United assistant Pep Clotet has indicated Pablo Hernandez’s adventurous streak played a key role in him joining the Yorkshire giants in 2016.
Hernandez has been the creative force behind Leeds’ Championship winning team and he is now set to test himself in the Premier League for the second time in his career.
The Spaniard has been at Leeds since 2016 and former Leeds manager Garry Monk convinced him to move to Elland Road four years ago.
Clotet, who was Monk’s assistant, admits that Leeds appealed to a player who had already played for Valencia and Spain and featured in the Premier League with Swansea City.
The former Leeds assistant feels the Spaniard has an adventurous streak that took him to the Middle East and the same quality also convinced him to move to Leeds, who he feels had a special pull on Hernandez.
“Something about Leeds appealed to him”, Clotet told The Athletic.
“I didn’t know what he would think when we first asked but I felt like Pablo had already reached the sky. He’d played for Valencia, he’d played for Spain, he’d played in the Premier League.
“There’s an adventurous side to him which will be part of the reason why he went [to Qatar].
“His family is very important to him too so that was probably part of his decision as well. But coming back to England interested him.
“We sent each other a few texts and I said to him, ‘So far I’ve had very few days in Leeds but I can tell you already that this club is something special. This is a very special club’.
"That was it. He wanted to do it.”
The 35-year-old will now be relied upon to provide an experienced head in Leeds' first season back in the Premier League.
