Premier League 2025-26 Preview No 11: Leeds United

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 17th (NB: this is not needfully Louise Taylor’s prediction but nan mean of our writers’ tips)

Last season: 1st successful nan Championship

Prospects

Can Leeds defy nan progressively powerful gravitational propulsion of nan Championship? Could they defy nan increasing anticipation that, these days, promoted teams will beryllium restricted to one-season top-tier stays? Daniel Farke is surely behaving for illustration a man connected a ngo to debar contiguous relegation and 7 summertime signings person added much-needed tallness and aggression to past term’s method but somewhat diminutive squad. Yet while nan arrivals of Lucas Perri, Jaka Bijol, Sebastiaan Bornouw, Gabriel Gudmundsson, Sean Longstaff and Anton Stach person fortified nan goalkeeping, protect and midfield departments, Lukas Nmecha remains nan sole attacking signing. Given Patrick Bamford has been told he will beryllium sold and Mateo Joseph and Joe Gelhardt person near connected season-long loans Leeds are racing against clip to rebuild nan beforehand extremity of nan team.

“We are not naive,” Farke said aft nan 1-1 friends against Villarreal. “We cognize that successful nan offence we are not fresh for Premier League level. We cognize that moreover successful comparison to our Championship offence you could opportunity that we are not overmuch improved.

“I can’t guarantee that for nan first crippled everything will beryllium fresh and we are afloat equipped but we decidedly person to make judge that, latest, aft nan first world break successful September, we person a really competitory squad for nan Premier League. We’re not anxious but we are afloat alert we request to do something.”

In nan interim, Joël Piroe, past season’s Championship aureate footwear winner, has a chance to show he is simply a top-tier striker.

If nan imports look sound – and nan Slovenia centre-half Bijol, a £15m bargain from Udinese, seems a peculiarly shrewd acquisition – an atrocious batch hinges connected really swiftly they adapt. Leeds fans must dream nan team’s model is sufficiently robust to showcase nan talents of past season’s stars, astir notably nan Wales winger Dan James and nan Japan midfielder Ao Tanaka.

The manager

Too galore managerial media addresses are anodyne, but nan amiable Farke, almost ever absorbing and evidently emotionally intelligent, is simply a invited objection to nan rule. The one-time economics student pinch nan look of a erstwhile dense metallic prima has achieved 3 promotions to nan Premier League, nan first 2 pinch financially challenged Norwich sides. The 48-year-old German remained honorable in nan look of aggravated speculation regarding his Elland Road early past May. The Leeds chair, Paraag Marathe, ended it by declaring “he’s my man, but nan task is undeniably formidable. As Farke says: “In nan past 21 years, Leeds person spent 3 seasons successful nan Premier League but that’s wherever this nine belongs. My occupation is to support america here.”

Off-field picture

Running Leeds has ever been challenging, but nan San Francisco-based 49er Enterprises is faced pinch nan tricky task of staying connected nan correct broadside of profitability and sustainability rules while remaining competitory connected nan pitch. This balancing enactment is only analyzable by nan reality that promotion has coincided pinch a awesome redevelopment task intended to grow Elland Road’s capacity to 53,000. With a general readying exertion now submitted to nan metropolis council, building activity could commencement earlier Christmas. While Robbie Evans, an analytics expert, is nan club’s caller managing head and replaces nan erstwhile CEO Angus Kinnear, who is now astatine Everton, nan long-serving Adam Underwood has been promoted to sporting director.

Star signing

Farke believes England’s home marketplace represents bad value, but cardinal midfielder Longstaff has been bought from Newcastle for an first £12m, perchance rising to £15m. Only nan excellence of Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimarães and Joelinton kept nan cricket-loving Tynesider retired of Eddie Howe’s first XI, but he is excessively bully not to beryllium playing regularly. With 171 Premier League appearances down him, Longstaff brings invaluable acquisition and is an fantabulous characteristic disconnected nan field, ever fresh to support and promote teammates. Games are often won and mislaid successful midfield and pinch Longstaff, Stach, Ethan Ampadu, Tanaka and Illia Gruev competing for places, nan motor room appears good staffed.

Sean Longstaff will bring much-needed Premier League acquisition to their midfield. Photograph: George Wood/Getty Images

Stepping up

Harry Gray, nan grandson of Frank Gray and awesome nephew of Eddie from nan Leeds sides of nan 1970s, and nan younger relative of Tottenham’s Archie Gray, is simply a poised, two-footed striker, arsenic adept arsenic a No 9 aliases a No 10. The England Under-17 world has made 1 first-team quality past play and does not move 17 until October, but his cool, incisive finishing, precocious method and precocious expertise to publication nan crippled dictates he is nan taxable of sizeable excitement astatine nan club. Leeds are anxious not to unreserved Gray’s development, but Premier League defenders are improbable to relish being introduced to his precocious accomplishment set.

A large play for …

“I astir apt person thing to beryllium successful nan Premier League,” said Wilfried Gnonto this summer. It is important to retrieve that his exquisite dribbling skills and bonzer alteration of gait beryllium to a winger who does not move 22 until November. Gnonto has 13 Italy caps, but his situation is to found hitherto elusive consistency and nail down a regular spot successful nan starting XI. Few top-tier defenders will invited nan acquisition of him moving astatine themand nan clip has travel for Gnonto to destruct erraticism from his game.