Leeds United need to not only hope they get recruitment right this summer, but also that their rivals from 17th upwards get it badly wrong, perhaps including Brentford.
There are two sides to the argument when looking at the increasing gap between promoted teams and the rest of the Premier League.
While it’s fair that the top flight is getting stronger with the same 17 strengthening their positions since summer 2023, the sides coming up have barely made a fist of it trying to survive, and Leeds need both trends to shift next season.
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Leeds United’s Premier League rivals Brentford set to lose Thomas Frank amid Bryan Mbeumo uncertainty
Leeds will need to drag some of the mid-table sides into relegation trouble next season, and one of the sides that have made life in the Premier League look pretty comfortable since their 2022 promotion is Brentford.
Thomas Frank, with the help of shrewd recruitment from the Bees, has established the West London club as a side that are yet to really concern themselves with the bottom three since promotion, most recently finishing 10th in the league with more than double the points of 18th placed Leicester City.
(REUTERS/Isabel Infantes)
However, the Bees are set for a major shake-up that could impact them in a quite negative way, as Fabrizio Romano reveals that Tottenham have agreed to take Frank as their replacement for Ange Postecoglou.
Spurs have paid £10million to release the Dane from his contract in order to take up this role across London, with Brentford now forced to replace the man that took them from Championship hopefuls to Premier League mainstays.
Frank’s imminent exit from Brentford comes alongside ongoing speculation of Bryan Mbeumo being expected to leave, as Manchester United continue their discussions over a fee that looks set to rise upwards of £60million.
Could Brentford be sucked into Leeds United’s relegation scrap after losing Frank?
Looking at scenarios for Leeds to stay up involves a lot of wishful thinking both about what will need to happen at Elland Road and elsewhere in the league.
We firstly need to recruit Premier League quality across the board, and hope that the sides above us don’t do likewise.
Brentford losing Frank is them losing one of the key reasons why they’ve made Premier League consolidation look so routine, he’s an outstanding coach and perfect for a side looking to punch above their weight.
Leeds will hope that their replacement of Frank isn’t up to scratch in the top flight, but you’re looking at one of the very well-ran top flight clubs that haven’t got many recruitment decisions wrong since they became Championship promotion chasers.