Leeds finally agree with midfielder on a deal as summer exit plans fly up following loan deal

After four years with the Whites, the club and player have agreed to split ways when his contract in West Yorkshire expires this summer. McKinstry spent the 2022/23 season on loan at boyhood club Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership, where he scored four goals in 24 appearances.

Leeds recruited the 20-year-old from Fir Park in 2019, following his father John south of the border. McKinstry began his career with the Under-18 squad before progressing to the Under-23 squad, which won promotion to the Premier League 2 Division 1 in 2021. McKinstry has played 44 times for the Whites’ reserve side, scoring four times.

McKinstry, a winger and attacking midfielder, made his senior debut for Leeds United in the Carabao Cup last season. McKinstry began the season as a regular under Well manager Steven Hammell, but has struggled to find playing time since Stuart Kettlewell’s appointment in mid-February.

If a more permanent return to his native Scotland cannot be achieved, a free transfer to an English Football League club has been suggested.

Cody Drameh, another Under-21s player, is poised to depart the club permanently this summer once his six-month loan arrangement with Luton Town expires.