Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has more than achieved his goal for the season by keeping the club in the Premier League with games to spare.
The Whites finished 14th in the Premier League table, well clear of the relegation zone and looking like a side that can only go up in the 2026/27 campaign.
Farke turned Leeds into a team that are hard to beat home or away, and they have taken points against Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United this season.
However, the focus has already turned to the 2026/27 season and what they could do in the summer to improve the squad to meet the challenges they will face in the coming year.
Leeds chairman has already warned the team while praising Daniel Farke
The Leeds chairman has lavished praise on Daniel Farke and the squad for securing Premier League survival with games to spare and reaching the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in nearly four decades.
However, Marathe warned that the second season in the Premier League will be even more challenging and insisted that, while the club are ambitious, it may take three years before Leeds can act as an established top-flight team.
Marathe said in an open letter on the club’s website: “With the season now finished, following an extraordinary effort by everybody connected to this great football club, I am immensely proud to have achieved our goal of securing another season in the Premier League.
“While this year brought memorable highs and difficult moments, Daniel and the squad delivered a special campaign. In a league where promoted clubs usually struggle, survival in our first season back is a significant accomplishment. We are also especially proud to have recorded our first league win at Old Trafford since 1981 and to have reached our first FA Cup semi-final since 1987.
“This season, clearly one of the determining factors for the squad was your energy at Elland Road – we collected 32 points on home soil. We will need that energy next season to ensure it remains a fortress.
“I said last year that the road ahead would not be easy – that is still true. History shows that the second season in the Premier League can be just as, if not more, challenging as the first.
“We remain ambitious but measured and deliberate, understanding that it will take three long-fought seasons before we can truly operate like an established Premier League side.”
The summer window will be challenging
Leeds brought in ten players last summer as part of a squad overhaul after achieving promotion to the Premier League from the Championship.
The priority for the club last summer was bringing in players capable of keeping them in the Premier League, but this time around, the task could be even tougher, with Daniel Farke now needing to improve on several of those additions from a year ago.
Upgrades cost more money, and Leeds may have to do something that they avoided last summer – spend big money on certain individuals to secure their targets.
It remains to be seen how Leeds approach the transfer window, given Farke’s public statements about wanting to see more ambition from the club.
