Leeds United defender Sam Byram is close to extending his stay at Elland Road for a third consecutive season.
The experienced and versatile full-back is expected to remain at Leeds penning a new one-year deal, the YEP understands.
Byram, 31, has spent the past two years at Elland Road as back-up to the likes of Junior Firpo and Jayden Bogle in the full-back position.
He is expected to continue in that capacity throughout the 2025/26 campaign in which Leeds return to the Premier League.
Byram has played 219 times across two spells for his boyhood club and will make his 200th league appearance for the Whites if he takes to the field this coming season.
Over the past two years, Byram has appeared 37 and 39 times, respectively, appearing to put injury troubles which plagued his spells with Norwich City and West Ham United behind him.
The defender's last Premier League outing came as a Canaries player during the 2021/22 season in which the Norfolk club were relegated back to the Championship.
Byram turns 32 in September and can be expected to provide back-up on both flanks, to Bogle on the right and Gabriel Gudmundsson on the left, who is close to agreeing a move from Lille OSC in France. Fellow full-back option Isaac Schmidt's future is uncertain having struggled to make an impact during the Whites' Championship-winning campaign last year.
Defender ticks important box
Byram also qualifies as a homegrown player; Leeds must register eight in their 25-man Premier League squad.
Leeds are also expected to confirm an extension to Dan James' Elland Road stay with the Welsh international winger's existing deal into its final 12 months. James scored a combined 25 goals for United during the past two Championship campaigns.
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