Leeds United v Crystal Palace FC - Premier League 2026/27
LEEDS, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 20: Leeds United player Tarik Muharemovic in action during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Leeds United and Crystal Palace FC at Elland Road on September 20, 2026 in Leeds, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Of Leeds United’s seven summer signings, three especially have hit the ground running.
James Trafford has been sensational in goal for Leeds so far. His form has been rewarded with two England caps in this international break. Nico Elvedi has also come into the team and performed despite most anticipating that the Swiss centre-back would only be a backup for us when we signed him.
Tarik Muharemovic is also one of the first names on Daniel Farke’s teamsheet. The Bosnian defender has appeared to adapt to the Premier League seamlessly.
Now, a former Leeds United manager has made an incredible claim about Muharemovic, whom he labelled “exceptional”.
Simon Grayson highlights the moment he knew Tarik Muharemovic would be a success at Leeds United
To former Leeds player and promotion-winning manager Simon Grayson, it was relatively soon after Muharemovic’s £34million move that he knew the 23-year-old would be a success in West Yorkshire.
Speaking to Leeds Live, Grayson stated that he has been very impressed with Muharemovic throughout the early portion of the season.
Grayson also highlighted the moment in pre-season that gave him confidence that Muharemovic would be a crucial part of Farke’s team going forward.
“When I watched him in the first game in pre-season, I thought, ‘this kid is a proper player’, Grayson said.
“He can pass the ball well and hits big diagonals. He can pass the ball through the lines, and he is a danger in both boxes. And he loves a tackle.
“I remember watching the Leipzig game. He did a tackle right in front of the south stand, and the whole place erupted. I was thinking then, ‘you’re going to go down well with this football club’. He’s definitely been the one, but they have all settled in really quickly.”
It’s hard to disagree with anything Grayson said here. For me, Muharemovic has been our best defender so far this season.
It’s also evident he will be extremely useful for us when attacking set pieces. Muharemovic scored his first Leeds goal in the chaotic 6-3 defeat in the Carabao Cup against Chelsea.
He also managed to score his second goal of the campaign in Bosnia’s most recent game against Romania, in which they won 4-2.
Four more signings still need to settle in
Obviously, not all seven of our signings were going to come in and have the same impact on the team that Muharemovic has had.
But whilst Elvedi, Muharemovic and Trafford are all vital parts of the starting XI, it seems as though the other four signings we made over the summer are still settling in.
Jean-Matteo Bahoya made his Leeds debut against Palace just before the international break. Bahoya also found the back of the net for France U21’s during the international break. This will likely help his chances of being involved more for us when club football resumes.
Michael Zetterer made his debut in that game against Chelsea, in which Muharemovic scored. The German ‘keeper had a night to forget as he shipped six goals. Now, it’s unlikely we’ll see him in action again until the FA Cup games get started.
Melvin Bard has been solid enough so far, but we haven’t seen enough of the Frenchman yet to say whether or not he can truly challenge Gabriel Gudmundsson to be our starting left-wing back.
Harry Wilson, for me, has been the biggest disappointment so far. The impact Muharemovic has had defensively, I expected Wilson to have that same impact for us in the final third. However, that’s not been the case so far.
He’s not been extremely poor by any means when he’s played. He’s just done little of note besides assisting Muharemovic’s goal against Chelsea by delivering the corner well.
I’m not writing him off yet; there’s still time for the Welshman to become a big player for us this season. However, his quad injury will mean he has to be even more patient when it comes to breaking back into the starting XI at Leeds.