Things seem to change quicker than ever in football these days. As Leeds United prepare to face rivals Manchester United in pre-season for the second time in three years, a glance at that 2023 clash in Olso almost feels like a flashback to a different era.
Erik ten Hag was beginning his second season in charge at Old Trafford. Optimism was high, particularly after the popular Dutchman landed his number one midfield target in Mason Mount.
Mount would make his first Manchester United start as Ten Hag met Daniel Farke in the Norwegian capital, featuring alongside a baby-faced teenage prospect by the name Kobbie Mainoo.
On the other side, only two of the players who lined up for Farke on that July afternoon at the Ullevaal Stadium are still contracted to Leeds United in May 2025. And both of those – Darko Gyabi and Sam Greenwood – have spent the current season out on loan with Plymouth Argyle and Preston North End respectively.
Extrapolate that out to the 21 players to feature in an eventual 2-0 defeat by Man United, and that number rises from two to eight. Pascal Struijk, Dan James, Patrick Bamford and Mateo Joseph all stepped off the bench, alongside young defender Kris Moore and Hull City loanee Joe Gelhardt.
But what happened to the other thirteen? With Leeds set to face Manchester United again this July – the two old enemies will face off in Stockholm’s 50,000-seater Strawberry Arena – where has life taken those no longer on Farke’s roster?
Photo by George Wood/Getty Images
Photo by George Wood/Getty Images
Kristoffer Klaesson – Viking
Brought into Elland Road as a back-up to Illan Meslier, the now-24-year-old Klaesson started between the sticks for the Yorkshire giants on his return to Oslo in 2023.
Klaesson would leave Leeds for a disastrous spell in Poland with Rakow Czestochowa soon after. He is now back in Scandinavia with Danish outfit Viking after a brief spell at AGF.
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Klaesson has played only two first-team games for three different clubs since departing Thorp Arch in July 2024.
Cody Drameh – Hull City
Perennially on the verge of the first-team without ever breaking through, Cody Drameh turned down a contract extension to join Hull City on a free. The well-travelled right-back has since lost his place in The Tigers’ line-up to another former Leeds defender, Lewie Coyle.
Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen – Dunfermline Athletic
Rose through Liverpool’s ranks before defecting to Leeds in 2023. After featuring for the club’s Under-18s and Under-23s, Chilokoa-Mullen moved north of the border with Scottish second-tier outfit Dunfermline in January.
Liam Cooper – CSKA Sofia
Fan favourite and former captain Liam Cooper secured a surprise switch to Bulgaria’s most successful club in the summer. Cooper made an immediate impact at CSKA Sofia, too, helping haul the 31-time champions away from the relegation zone while taking over the armband.
Leo Hjelde – Sunderland
Big things were expected when Leo Hjelde joined Leeds from Celtic in 2021. However, the rangy defender would make only three league appearances. Hjelde has been a bit-part player in Sunderland’s play-off charge this term.
Jamie Shackleton – Sheffield United
Briefly Marcelo Bielsa’s Mr Versatile, the Leeds-born Jamie Shackleton is now part of the Sheffield United team going head-to-head with his old Yorkshire employers for the Championship title.
Shackleton is yet to feature in 2025 due to a foot injury.
Ian Poveda – Sunderland
Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images
Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images
Like Hjelde, Ian Poveda moved to Wearside hoping that Sunderland could provide the first-team football he was missing at Leeds. Like Hjelde, he is yet to put a run of games together.
The luckless Poveda is out once again with injury.
Luis Sinisterra – AFC Bournemouth
Speaking of wingers struggling with injury, Luis Sinisterra made a frustrating return to the treatment table himself over the weekend. The former Feyenoord ace joined Bournemouth in a £20 million permanent move last year but has played a grand total of 27 Premier League minutes in the last five months.
Georginio Rutter – Brighton and Hove Albion
The player who has arguably enjoyed the most success since leaving Leeds post-2023, Georginio Rutter became Brighton’s £40 million record signing and has lived up to his price-tag with a series of silky yet sturdy displays.
Pep Guardiola called Rutter a ‘fantastic’ talent after Brighton held Manchester City at the Etihad on Saturday.
Dani van den Heuvel – Club Brugge
A goalkeeper who represents the Netherlands at Under-21 level, Van den Heuvel did not make a first-team appearance at Leeds and is still awaiting his senior debut for Club Brugge.
Luke Ayling – Middlesbrough
Still a regular fixture in England’s second tier at the age of 33. Luke Ayling was one of Marcelo Bielsa’s most trusted lieutenants and it’s telling that, until Jayden Bogle joined from Sheffield United a year ago, Ayling felt almost irreplaceable on Leeds’ right-hand flank.
Archie Gray – Tottenham Hotspur
Photo by George Wood/Getty Images
Photo by George Wood/Getty Images
Since his £35 million switch, teen sensation Archie Gray has been a bright spark in a disastrous season for Tottenham Hotspur despite spending much of the campaign stuck at centre-half. His flexibility and maturity continues to mark the 19-year-old old as a special talent.
Lewis Bate – Stockport County
Eyebrows were raised when Lewis Bate – once a jewel in Chelsea’s academy crown – left Leeds to join Stockport County in England’s fourth tier. Wrexham are not the only upwardly-mobile institution soaring through the divisions, however.
Bate could yet captain Stockport into the Championship with a fourth promotion in seven years on the cards.