After watching Leeds United lift the Championship title with virtually unparalleled dominance in their games, the manner of Daniel Farke’s next battle is much different and much more difficult.
The scenes at home to Stoke City, outside the East Stand straight after Burnley’s win, and then the final two games of the season, and then the parade showed just how much promotion meant for us fans and the club.
There was, however, always that niggling pessimistic thought in my mind that it’s going to be short-lived with relegation the most likely outcome of next season, based on how the Premier League has chewed up the last six promoted teams and spat them straight out after 38 games.
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Fans on social media said it a lot in the last two seasons that their journey to the top flight was far more enjoyable than actually being in it, handed beatings consistently while having to deal with VAR, dire atmospheres and a clear media bias to the bigger clubs.
Can Leeds United buck the trend of immediate relegation from the Premier League?
I would be lying if I said that I didn’t think Leeds were more likely to finish in the bottom three than anywhere else.
The main issue is that 17 Premier League clubs have maintained their position for the last two seasons, therefore have gained far more revenue as a result while Leeds and others have faced far greater PSR hurdles, being able to spend much less while starting out in the summer with much weaker squads coming out of the Championship.
Daniel Farke faces almighty task to keep Leeds United in the Premier League. (Action Images/Matthew Childs)
What needs to happen for us to be the side that actually sticks the landing, though? As opposed to the six before us that have gone down with a total whimper.
Well, we not only need to nail virtually all of our signings this summer and hope that Farke is tactically up to the task of winning games in the top flight, but also that teams from 17th up fluff their lines all summer.
Confidence grows in Leeds United based on recruitment noises from Elland Road
Looking at that first point, I feel as though Leeds are showing every sign of being competitive in the relegation battle next season through their own business.
Missing out on Habib Diarra and Noah Sadiki to Sunderland are obviously blows, but looking at the three players in the doors already: Lukas Nmecha, Jaka Bijol, and Sebastiaan Bornauw, we have addressed not only the quality of the starting lineup at centre-back in Bijol, but also the strength in depth of both centre-back and striker options.
(REUTERS/Lee Smith)
I can remember our last attempts to establish ourselves in the Premier League came unstuck because Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo couldn’t stay fit enough to give us a consistent focal point up front, but landing Nmecha to add to Bamford, Mateo Joseph and Joel Piroe – with a big-money signing sure to follow at some point – means we should have a number nine presence to rely on all season long.
There’s the other aspect of this to consider too in that all three players are 6ft1in and above, addressing what Rangers boss Russell Martin diagnosed as a major shortfall of Southampton’s recruitment post-promotion, and that was seriously underestimating the physicality and athleticism required to compete in the Premier League.
Leeds of course have to close the technical gap to each side in the top flight, but in closing the physical gap, Farke has the tools to keep pace with their rivals next season no matter the gulf in quality on the ball.
Anton Stach is another name supposedly on the shortlist from Hoffenheim, a 6ft4in ball-winning midfielder that covers ground for days, drives with the ball, and gets stuck in for 90 minutes, exactly what Ao Tanaka and Ethan Ampadu need in the double pivot.
Big Anton Stach is the latest name to be strongly linked with a Leeds United move. (REUTERS/Heiko Becker)
In goal, Illan Meslier’s time was up from the moment he let Swansea’s Zan Vipotnik score from a tight angle to cost us two more points in the promotion race, and I think we’re all in agreement that the next goalkeeper we sign doesn’t have to be a master of build-up in possession, but someone who quite simply stops shots, and catches crosses.
Nick Pope is the type of ‘keeper Leeds would want then, but he’s made his mind up to compete with James Trafford at Newcastle, so someone like Lyon’s Lucas Perri might be viable, standing at 6ft5in and likely to leave with the French giants subjected to a pending Ligue 2 relegation.
Who joins these three remains to be seen, but Leeds are leaning heavily into the notion of being horrible to play against much more than being a ball-dominant Championship side that want to replicate that in the division above, something that ruined Burnley and Southampton.
It’s ironic that Luton Town were the closest to staying up out of these last two seasons despite having the most limited resources, but it further underlines my thinking that a promoted club needs to be athletic first and foremost, something Luton showed in every game, becoming a physically fierce side regardless of whether their technical quality could keep up with their top flight rivals.
Further help in Leeds United’s relegation scrap comes from weaker Premier League rivals
Another reason why I believe Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton all finished miles behind the other 17 is because those sides had raised their levels quite significantly to steer well clear of the newcomers.
Savvy recruitment and top-level coaching was in abundance last season, epitomised by the fact that Spurs and Man United were slugging it in 16th and 17th for large parts of 2025 despite both having quite respectable coaches and plenty of quality (or at least investment) in their squads.
Thomas Frank, Vitor Pereira, Ruben Amorim, Graham Potter, David Moyes, Oliver Glasner, Marco Silva, Andoni Iraola and Fabian Hurzeler are the coaches in jobs of sides that finished outside the top eight last season, all having star players in their squad that a newly-promoted side could only dream of.
Leeds United’s rivals Brentford have lost their iconic head coach Thomas Frank to Spurs. (Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge)
The difference I feel that may help Leeds this year is that a lot of these sides aren’t demonstrably stronger this time around:
Wolves have lost two of their chief attacking outlets in Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri, Brentford have lost their incredible head coach and will surely lose Bryan Mbeumo and Christian Norgaard, West Ham need to sell before they can buy and that means Mohammed Kudus is the likely exit there, and four of Bournemouth’s most common back five last season has been picked off.
Now, this isn’t to say that I think these clubs are dead certs to be relegated instead of a Leeds side that still needs a lot of work, but the standards have already noticeably slipped compared to the 24/25 season.
Will Pereira continue his remarkable form at Wolves without two crucial players, now the manager bounce has worn off? Is Keith Andrews too big a risk at Brentford to continue on from Frank’s ridiculously good job? Will Potter continue to struggle at West Ham, especially with limited funds?
All of the above suggests Leeds having greater opportunity to get points on the board against these sides after a year when they were lightyears ahead of the previous promoted sides.
Time will tell and recruitment between now and August 18th plays a huge role, but there’s plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments!