Leeds United midfielder Pablo Hernandez spoke exclusively to LUTV after signing a permanent deal with the Whites.

The Spaniard initially joined on loan from Quatar club Al-Arabi and after impressing during the first half of the season, a deal has now been struck to keep Hernandez permanently.

Hernandez who has featured 18 times for United this season, finding the back of the net three times, is pleased to have committed his future to the club.

“I am very happy to sign a permanent deal with Leeds United,” Hernandez said.

“I knew I initially came here on loan for six months, but in my mind I always wanted to stay here for longer.

“Leeds gave me the chance to return to English football and I am very happy because I really enjoy the football here in England.

“When I first came here a lot of people told me Leeds United are a big club, but I already knew this from my time at Valencia, when the two sides met in the UEFA Champions League semi-final.

“Leeds has unbelievable fans, an unbelievable stadium, a really good training ground and very professional staff and I really like all of this.

As one of the older members of the squad, Hernandez spoke about his influence on the team and says the side need to remain grounded.

“This team is very young, I am older and I have a role in the team to set an example to the players and hopefully my experience can help them.

“It has been a good season so far, it will be a good challenge for the next five or six months to fight for the top positions in the table.”

“We have a lot of games in front of us, we need to take it game by game and we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves.

“The fans believe in this team and that is important for the confidence of the team, but we need to stay calm as it is still early in the season.”

LUTV subscribers can see the full interview with Pablo Hernandez below: