He signed for Newcastle United for £25,000 for whom he scored a hat-trick on his debut in a friendly against Danish side Aarhus. However, his stay with Newcastle was only a short one and he was loaned to Canadian side Montreal Concordia before returning to the Midlands by the end of the year, with Birmingham City, costing £23,000. In three years with Birmingham, he scored 49 goals from 104 appearances in the league. He also scored two goals in the first leg of the club's League Cup victory against their local rivals Aston Villa in the 1963 final. Before Birmingham's appearance in the 2001 final, Leek said: "It was a very proud moment for me when we lifted the cup."