Despite Leeds United’s Premier League ambition next season, there are a number of players who are unlikely to remain at the club past the transfer deadline for Daniel Darke’s side.
Changes are already well underway in terms of the playing squad, with star players expected to join Archie Gray out of the exit door, whilst there are those players who left Leeds due to loan clauses in their contract who will need to have their future at Elland Road resolved as quickly as possible, in order for the club to then focus on incomings for Farke.
The Daily Mail has reported that the Whites may have to generate around £100 million in player sales following their failure to secure promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking. That’s despite Red Bull’s lucrative sponsorship deal with the club.
Young stars such as Crysencio Summerville, Willy Gnonto, Georginio Rutter, and Gray are therefore likely to be sold to help balance the books before the club can make significant investments of their own in the form of incoming players to strengthen the squad.
Leeds have released the likes of Luke Ayling, Lewis Bate, Robin Koch, Jamie Shackleton, and Ian Poveda. They have sold Gray, Luis Sinisterra, Marc Roca, Kristoffer Klaesson, Charlie Cresswell, and Diego Llorente. Whilst Jack Harrison, Darko Gyabi, Sonny Perkins, and Sam Greenwood have sealed loan exits.
Of course, anything can happen in football and things can change quickly, but here we have looked at some of the likeliest players to join those in exiting the club by the deadline on August 30th.
Crysencio Summerville links to Newcastle, Chelsea, and Aston Villa
Summerville’s exit feels like a near-certainty and a question of when and not if. The Dutchman has plenty of resale value for PSR and enjoyed a terrific season in winning the Championship Player of the Year award aged just 22. That sort of form at that age is sure to pique the interest of clubs across Europe’s top-flight leagues.
He has been linked to a host of top-flight sides, including the likes of Newcastle United, as well as Aston Villa and Chelsea that have been credited with an interest in the forward recently. However, Newcastle’s interest is long-standing.
Max Wöber’s Leeds future to be decided after the Euros
Austrian defender Max Wöber only joined the Whites in January of last year but he has been fairly decent on loan with Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga, and there remains every chance he has permanent suitors in a top-flight league somewhere this summer.
The latest update in June came from Wöber speaking to Austrian news outlet Kleine Zeitung, where he claimed that he would decide on his future after the European Championships. However, according to Football Insider, the Whites are willing to cash in on the Austrian following his loan spell with Mönchengladbach.
Rasmus Kristensen concerns
Rasmus Kristensen played 30 games for the Whites in his solitary season, scoring three times and registering one assist, too.
The club will almost certainly take whatever they can get for Kristensen during the summer following his loan stint at AS Roma, as he has been a largely forgettable signing, and the majority of the players (outside of Brenden Aaronson) who received loan moves are unlikely to be reintegrated next season.
Joe Gelhardt’s short-term Leeds future in doubt
Joe Gelhardt’s future in West Yorkshire is unclear, with his development stalling over the last couple of seasons. However, there is talent there, and the club could instead seek a loan move in order to get his career back on track, with the idea of utilising him in 2025/26 instead. His stagnation means he surely leaves in some capacity, be that on loan or permanently, to raise further funds.
Nothing concrete has arisen thus far, but Scottish giants Celtic and Rangers were heavily linked with the forward in January, and they were also joined by West Brom, who were also credited with an interest in the 22-year-old.
Willy Gnonto or Georginio Rutter to be sold by Leeds
Leeds and Farke will be desperate to keep at least one of their differential attacking players who are capable of a moment of magic in the final third to be a match winner. Summerville’s departure may be inevitable, but perhaps one of Georgionio Rutter or Willy Gnonto can be retained, but not both.
Speaking on Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Pete O’Rourke has claimed that Leeds are prepared to accept “big offers” for Gnonto, Rutter and Summerville this summer, even though they have already secured a lucrative deal for Gray. The same journalist has also reported that all three players aren’t keen to remain in the second tier, and that an exit for each of them is likely before the current window closes.
They are young players with plenty of potential, and both would command a huge fee this summer for the Whites to part ways with them. However, either could be a vital component of the side next year, especially with their versatility to play a variety of roles in the line of three behind the centre-forward.
If the club are to be aggressive in the market, then selling at least one of Gnonto or Rutter on top of Summerville, in order to beef up their transfer kitty, makes plenty of sense, even if they are the kinds of players most Leeds fans would like to retain to build the side around as a key part of the promotion pushing squad next year.
