Leeds United need to build their squad smartly this summer, but they also need their rivals in the Premier League to have poor summer windows.
Daniel Farke has a big point to prove next season regarding his Premier League credentials after two failures with Norwich City.
His chances of sticking the landing this time around are boosted by actual backing from his owners, due to see a third signing through the doors imminently in centre-back Sebastiaan Bornauw
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Leeds United need drop-off from Premier League rivals to stay up
Of course, improving on a title-winning squad is a must for Leeds to stand any chance of finishing 17th in the table.
On top of that, Leeds will be watching developments across the Premier League with interest, hoping for a dip in standards after the gap widened so dramatically between the bottom three and the rest.
17th place last season was Spurs, who are playing Champions League football in 25/26, but the next two sides Wolves and West Ham could be two to monitor.
(REUTERS/Peter Powell)
Wolves have already seen two crucial players, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Matheus Cunha, leave for their respective Manchester clubs – while West Ham’s summer window is yet to get going after a very poor end to the campaign under Graham Potter.
Leeds United’s rivals West Ham in PSR nightmare with Mohammed Kudus set to be sold
The Irons were European champions in 2023 when Leeds were relegated, lifting the Europa Conference League under David Moyes with steady qualification for continental honours under the now-Everton boss.
However, despite huge spending in the summer of 2024, The Guardian journalist Jacob Steinberg relays serious concerns at the London Stadium that they must sell before they can buy, namely with star attacker Mohammed Kudus:
“West Ham remain adamant they need to sell to buy. Fear of a PSR breach if they don’t. The squad so badly put together that Kudus is basically the only sellable asset, so selling him to Spurs is very possible if they offer enough.
“Yes, there are graphics showing that West Ham are in good financial health but those are assumptions that can’t factor in losses that aren’t reported yet. Even so, none of this is exactly next level. Sell Kudus to Spurs and you’re either inviting protests or apathy.”
A PSR breach or losing Kudus could be serious blow for West Ham, and ideal for Leeds
Either way in this scenario, West Ham are going into pre-season in a fairly bleak situation and that doesn’t bode well for the upcoming campaign.
Does this mean West Ham are going down and Leeds are staying up? No, it doesn’t, but it does mean that we’re likely to see one of the clubs who finished very low in the table looking even weaker next season.
If West Ham, Wolves, Brentford, and some others end up weaker next season than last season, it gives Leeds a better chance of being able to actually match these teams and get points on the board.
Who goes down instead of Leeds in this instance is hard to predict, but the standard dropping overall is ideal.