Leeds United fans will naturally have been excited when their club announced the signing of Jay-Roy Grot in 2017 given the Dutchman's impressive performances in the Eredivisie at such a young age, but his time at Elland Road would turn into a nightmare.
Why did Leeds sign Jay-Roy Grot?
Following the sale of Chris Wood earlier in the summer of 2017, Leeds worked quickly to bring in the 19-year-old Grot from NEC Nijmegen for an undisclosed fee on a four-year deal.
The forward, who stands at six foot four, had accumulated plenty of experience in the Dutch top flight ahead of his arrival in Yorkshire and managed six goals in 24 league appearances prior to signing for Leeds.
Sadly, the 2017/18 campaign proved to be a disappointing one for both Leeds and Grot, as the Peacocks finished 13th in the second tier, with their new striker finding the back of the net just once in 22 appearances in all competitions.
However, the Netherlands U21 international was still young and few would have predicted that those would have been his final appearances as a Leeds player, but he was sent out on loan just a month into Marcelo Bielsa's tenure at Elland Road.
His first spell away from the club saw him hit six goals in 34 appearances for VVV-Venlo back in his home country and at that point, the striker still harboured hopes of making it at Leeds.
He said:
“I did not succeed in the first year (at Leeds), which is why I am now looking to play a lot. The English dream is still there.”
Unfortunately for the Dutchman, he would endure another disappointing spell at Vitesse the following season, with just two goals in 25 appearances, as Leeds stormed to the Championship title back in England.
Where is Jay-Roy Grot now?
It was clear at that point that Grot didn't have a future at Leeds given their promotion to the Premier League and he would finally depart in February 2021, joining German 2. Bundesliga outfit VfL Osnabruck, but he managed just four appearances and no goals in his time there.
The most successful period of his career came in Denmark with Viborg FC, where he managed a modest return of 15 goals and three assists in 50 appearances, but he still opted to join Japanese side Kashiwa Reysol in January of this year, where he is yet to score in three league outings.
It seems clear that Grot, who is now 25, is another player who failed to live up to his potential at Elland Road and sadly his career has not gone to plan after looking like a promising young signing back in 2017.
