The season may have only just ended but Leeds United have a busy summer ahead - at least for Daniel Farke and the board.
The manager will take a break now that the campaign is over amid discussions around future planning, transfer next steps and Farke’s own contract situation itself. All the while, the Elland Road expansion project has already begun.
Furniture has been removed and demolition work has started on site with the outside of the West Stand set to look a lot different by the time the new season returns. However, the 2026/27 campaign is still some three months away yet, with a lot to get through beforehand.
As things stand, below are listed the key dates and milestones for your Leeds diary this summer.
June 11 - World Cup starts
Noah Okafor (Switzerland), Gabriel Gudmundsson (Sweden), Brenden Aaronson (USA) and Ao Tanaka (Japan) will all feature of the global stage this summer.
Farke has meanwhile outlined how he expects the World Cup to truncate transfer business to the latter part of the window as players who could be on the club’s radar focus on representing their nation on the biggest platform there is.
Naturally, the transfer merry-go-round slows during this period. Talks and advances could be made before the start date, especially with those who are not at the finals. But clubs set to lose players will want to make provisions for replacements and the World Cup can hamper that.
June 15 - Transfer window opens
Clubs can’t do any formal business until four days after the tournament starts, anyway. The Premier League’s transfer window opens in less than three weeks’ time though, and clubs - Leeds included - will have their early recruitment blueprints drafted up already.
June 19 - Premier League fixtures released
The 2026/27 Premier League fixture lists will be announced on this day. Leeds were given an appetising run-in last season, albeit what denotes good and bad always depends on how teams fare throughout the season itself.
The opening day and home game, when the Manchester United fixtures are and the Christmas schedule are all dates to look out for.
June 30 - PSR deadline
This is the final day the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules are in force, albeit clubs will still be assessed on their PSR books this summer. The new Squad Cost Ratio rules then come into force a day later.
The new SCR rules allow teams not in European competition to spend up to 85% of their revenue on on-pitch matters, such as transfers and contracts. For European-competing teams, this is capped at 70%, in line with UEFA’s threshold.
Leeds will be marginally worse off in the short-term but, should the club stay in the Premier League long enough, they will be better off under SCR than PSR, especially once the West Stand is completed.
In the meantime, while the 49ers maxed out spending limits last summer, Leeds are not on track to breach any PSR regulations. And that probably means the likelihood of arrivals in June lowers.
July 1 - Expiring contracts
A day later, the contracts of Karl Darlow, Sam Byram, Alex Cairns and Illan Meslier expire. Darlow is expected to be offered renewal talks while Byram and Meslier almost certainly will not be.
This is also the day Ethan Ampadu, Pascal Struijk, Brenden Aaronson, Ilia Gruev, Joel Piroe and Lukas Nmecha enter the final year of their contracts.
July 4 - Farke milestone
This will mark three years since Farke arrived at the club. Promotion - with the Championship title - and Premier League survival means the initial aims he set out to achieve are completed.
If a renewal is not agreed before this date, then the boss will enter the final 12 months of his contract.
July 19 - World Cup ends
This is when the transfer mill will really start to get going, albeit it could already be spinning a few weeks beforehand as players get knocked out of the tournament. It’s not likely Leeds will be chasing anyone playing in the World Cup final, depending who gets there of course.
Farke has also said that the World Cup is unlikely to reveal anything new about a player that was not known before, or unearth a gem that had not already been picked up on the radar. So business could get rolling before this date but the merry-go-round will spin faster post-final.
July 25 - First pre-season deadline
Leeds actually fly out to the US a few days before this first pre-season friendly against Wrexham in Tampa, Florida - but this is the date when the pre-season friendly schedule gets underway.
What follows is Sunderland in New Jersey on July 30, Liverpool in Chicago on August 2, an Elland Road with RB Leipzig on the weekend of August 8 and the match-up with Manchester United at Croke Park in Dublin on August 12.
August 22 - Premier League starts
The Premier League gets underway slightly later than usual because of the World Cup. By this point, Leeds will have new faces through the door and they will be making their competitive debuts for the Whites.
September 1 - Transfer window closes
The summer transfer window closes at 11pm again this time, having been at 7pm for the last couple of years. Leeds were left frustrated by Fulham over Harry Wilson last time. They will hope for a smoother final day this time.