Leeds United are yet to secure automatic promotion but rumours around their transfer business for next summer are picking up pace. The Whites still need to remain grounded and ensure they get back to the Premier League but speculation of what they would need in the next window is already doing the rounds. The Yorkshire giants will definitely have to overhaul their squad in the summer to make it Premier League-ready and will need reinforcements in almost every area of their team. However, Chris Wilder, of all people, has genuine reasons to feel worried if Leeds get promoted to the Premier League in the coming months.
Daniel Farke is likely working hard behind the scenes to ensure that his Leeds players remain grounded and focused on the job at hand while premature talk of promotion grows louder outside the club.
Leeds are focused on making sure that they get the job done in the coming months but somewhere at Thorp Arch, the club’s recruitment team are having meetings on players they would need if they go up to the top flight this summer.
The struggles of Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton this season have made it clear that there is a massive gulf between the Championship and the Premier League. If Leeds get promoted they would need to bring in reinforcements across every area of their squad to survive in the top flight.
Leed will definitely look for a new attacking midfielder in the next window and several players are being closely assessed by their recruitment team before a decision is taken.
The reason Chris Wilder seems worried is that one of the players is his talismanic number 10 Gustavo Hamer.
“I was disappointed at losing a key player to Leeds United last summer” – Chris Wilder rues selling Jayden Bogle
Leeds needed a right-back last summer and Jayden Bogle was identified as their top target. Sheffield United would have preferred to hold on to him but Whites snared him away from Bramall Lane.
Bogle has been the best right-back in the Championship this season and is one of the first names on Farke’s team sheets for every game when he is fit and available.
He would have been a big player for Blades this term had he stayed but Leeds managed to convince him to move to Elland Road last year.
Wilder appears fearful of history repeating itself next summer as well because of Leeds’ interest in Hamer. He insisted that he doesn’t want to keep losing his best players to Sheffield United’s rivals.
However, the Sheffield United boss stressed that it is not the right time to bring up Leeds’ interest in the Dutchman and the midfielder needs to remain focused on the job at hand at Bramall Lane.
“I’m sure there’s interest from a lot of good clubs and Leeds is a good club, a big club”, Wilder was quoted as saying by the Star.
“We don’t want to lose our best players. We lost one in the summer, which I was disappointed about, and we need to keep our best players and invest in them.
“But there’s always when the time’s right and the numbers are right there has to be conversations.
“But this is not the time for that, and Gus is contributing. He’s got his head down and is fully focused.”
It is apparent that Wilder is worried about Hamer doing a Bogle and joining Leeds in the summer
Sheffield United must be cursing themselves for handing Bogle to Leeds last summer given the role he has played in Farke’s team this season and would probably be considered one of the architects of their promotion if they get back to the Premier League.
Right-back was a key concern for Leeds last summer and they somehow convinced a promotion rival to hand over a massive player to them for a decent transfer fee.
Hamer has been on Leeds’ radar since he joined Sheffield United in 2023 and the club remain keen to take him to Elland Road next summer.
Can you name these past and present Leeds United players?
If Leeds go up and Sheffield United do not, it would be easy for the Whites to work out a deal to sign the Dutchman in the next transfer window.
However, if both go up, it would become a far more difficult deal to pull off. But Bogle showed last year that it could still be done and Wilder appears worried about losing another top player to Leeds.
The Sheffield United boss’ worries show that Leeds remain a big club and in the Premier League, they would become an even more attractive destination for several of their top targets.
