After a tumultuous summer in the aftermath of relegation from England’s top flight, Leeds United currently occupy fifth position in the second tier during the international break. But how far can Daniel Farke’s men go in the Championship?
As dramatic as a Shakespearian tragedy, Leeds United’s summer saw a change in ownership, a complete overhaul of the playing squad, transfer sagas, and changes in the dugout – all of which transformed the West Yorkshire club from a barrel of uncertainty to solid promotion contenders.
Summer Signings
Leeds’ life back in the second tier began as Cardiff City made the trip to Elland Road, the playing squad was still being picked apart, with little transfer business being done to bolster a depleted squad. Since then, the club has signed a wealth of top-end Championship performers, now making Farke’s side one of the toughest prospects in the division.
With a few remaining from the Leeds squad that won promotion to the Premier League in the 2019/20 season, United have added a wealth of players with Championship promotion on their CVs, with Djed Spence, Sam Byram and Jaidon Anthony joining the ranks.
Outside of the Championship, the Whites’ squad boasts players with pedigree in European competitions. Ethan Ampadu and Glen Kamara made the switch to Elland Road on permanent deals – the latter started a Europa League final for Rangers 18 months ago.
However, among these signings, the most influential arrival for the newly relegated side has to be Joel Piroe.
Before his move from Swansea City, Farke’s striking options featured an injured Patrick Bamford and two raw prospects in Georginio Rutter and Joe Gelhardt.
Moving for the Dutchman made complete sense. With 41 Championship goals in two seasons, not only has he heavily improved Leeds’ potency in front of goal, but the pressure on the young strikers to be the answer has also been alleviated.
Getting himself off the mark in the 19th minute of his debut away at Ipswich Town, Daniel Farke’s frontline has often run riot since he joined.
A Second Tier Specialist
With a proven Championship operator at the helm, Farke’s appointment was possibly Leeds’ biggest acquisition of the summer.
Claiming the title in his previous two Championship seasons with Norwich City while playing excellent football in the process, Farke was a prodigious appointment for the club.
One question that may be asked about the German is whether he could adapt this Leeds squad to similar levels of his Norwich City sides in this division, boasting a similar points tally to the Canaries after eleven games in the 2018/19 season. A case can certainly be made that the playing squad have bought into Farke’s philosophy.
Farke’s sides are often known to set up in a front-foot, possession-based 4-2-3-1 formation where the wide players and an energetic core of central midfielders press the play into the central attackers. This Leeds side boasts indistinguishable statistics in terms of possession, passes and tackles per 90. Similar characteristics can also be drawn in terms of personnel.
The signings of the versatile Ethan Ampadu and energetic dynamo Glen Kamara form a high-pressing midfield pivot that is typical of a Daniel Farke team, Djed Spence is yet to feature much due to injury but fits the mould of a marauding fullback which Max Aarons carried out brilliantly at Carrow Road.
Averaging over two points per game with his Canaries sides in 2019 and 2021, Farke is a perfect fit to spearhead this Leeds squad to promotion.
Where Do The Frailties Lie?
One potential weakness in Farke’s squad would be the uncertainty over their left-back position. Oftentimes this season, Leeds have deployed 30-year-old Sam Byram on the left flank – who is a right-back by trade.
Due to Byram being wrong-footed on the left channel, this is a potential area which opposition sides will look to exploit when facing Leeds.
The Leeds United squad does possess a natural left-back, former Barcelona prospect Junior Firpo, whose calibre should exceed the Championship. However, the Spaniard’s fitness has been massively unreliable since arriving at Elland Road in the summer of 2021. Firpo has failed to feature this term for the Yorkshire club and has only started 33 league games across his two full seasons at Leeds.
Can Leeds Challenge For Automatic Promotion?
As of now, Leeds sit in fifth position, nine points behind Ipswich Town who occupy the second automatic position. Other clubs in the promotion chase include Sunderland, Preston North End and Birmingham City.
The biggest threats to Ipswich are Southampton, Sunderland and Leeds – these are the squads that pose the most quality and able-management for the division.
The team’s slow start is understandable given that Farke was not appointed until July and the summer featured ongoing speculation over the departures and ownership. There have certainly been some disappointing results but on the whole, Leeds have started the season well.
Ipswich and Leicester City may seem flawless now. However, every club undergoes a run of poor form at some point in the season. The most important part of that is the response.
Leeds’ squad has significantly improved as they have continued to work under the German. Posing Premier League quality players, a recognised goal-scorer in the division and a promotion specialist for the division, it would be extremely surprising if Leeds, Ipswich, Leicester and Sunderland are not in the automatic promotion mix in the season’s closing stages.
