The summer transfer window is in full swing and Leeds United are looking to wrap up more deals as pre-season begins. Daniel Farke has wasted no time in reshaping his first team squad, bringing in three new players.
Summer signings Lukas Nmecha, Jaka Bijol and Sebastiaan Bornauw will meet their new teammates for the first time at Thorp Arch tomorrow when the squad report in for the first day of pre-season testing and training. It is understood the Whites are also growing increasingly confident of securing the services of Lille left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson.
But there are still a number of areas in the squad Farke is eager to upgrade before the window shuts on September 1. United are known to be after a new goalkeeper, central midfielder, winger and striker.
Has the summer been all about incomings? Not quite. There have been some notable departures. Rasmus Kristensen, Max Wober and Junior Firpo are among the players to have left the club.
Charlie Crew, Darko Gyabi, Jack Harrison, Sam Greenwood and Joe Gelhardt have returned to Elland Road following loan stints away from Elland Road and will be aiming to catch Farke's eye in pre-season. Farke has decisions to make on a number of players on the fringes of his squad.
But what are the rules around Premier League squads ahead of the start of the 2025/26 season? The regulations stipulate each club's squad must contain no more than 17 players who do not fulfil the "Home Grown Player" criteria. The rest of the squad, up to a total of 25 players, must be "Home Grown".
A "Home Grown Player" means a player who, irrespective of nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to the Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21). Under-21 players are not included in club's 25-man squad lists and are eligible to play in the Premier League.
However, there are no rules around a minimum squad number you can take into any given Premier League season. The understanding is that a club, if they so wished, could go into a season with a full list of Under-21 players.
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