Leeds United sit at the top of the Championship table and are firm favourites to earn automatic promotion. If last season is any indicator, the Whites should comfortably finish in the automatic playoff spots and get back to the Premier League. While Leeds are not looking too far ahead, there are players in the Leeds squad who might not get the chance to enjoy the fruits of their labours next season as the squad will undergo a major overhaul. Several of the players would be deemed not good enough to play in the Premier League and the club would look to move them on. A few of the Leeds stars are under trial at the moment as Daniel Farke and the recruitment team assess their ability to cut it in the top flight of English football.
Farke is a fan of consistency so no one expects Leeds United to do a Nottingham Forest when they go up in the Premier League but considerable changes will be made to the squad over the summer to make them Premier League-ready.
Here are three players who are currently fighting for their future at Elland Road and could be moved on if they do not perform at a certain level in the coming months.
Wilfried Gnonto – Leeds United expected better from him this season
Gnonto was expected to step up to the plate and become the main man this season following the departures of Crysencio Summerville and Georgino Rutter from the forward line last summer. However, the winger’s numbers are nothing to write home about and he has been plagued by inconsistencies this term.
A run of poor form saw him getting dropped from the starting eleven in December and he has started just one game in the last eight Championship games for the Whites. Manor Solomon has been brilliant on the left wing and Gnonto has been reduced to cameos from the bench.
He scored his first goal in nearly two months on Saturday in the 7-0 win over Cardiff City at Elland Road. Farke hopes that it starts a revival in Gnonto and he becomes a serious attacking option for the last few months of the season.
If Leeds get to the Premier League without Gnonto’s major contribution in the coming months, there is a real chance the Whites could look to move him on in the summer.
Joel Piroe – the club’s top scorer but with several question marks
Piroe is the topscorer for Leeds this season with 12 goals and is now just three short of Norwich’s Borja Sainz who has 15 Championship goals to his name. Given the fact that the Spaniard has not scored since November and is currently serving a six-game ban, there is a real chance the Leeds star could end up as the highest goalscorer this term in the Championship.
However, question marks remain over his long-term suitability especially if Leeds are in the Premier League next season. His struggles to win physical duels with centre-backs have come to the fore in recent games and there are claims that he could really find it hard to deal with better defenders in the Premier League.
Piroe has the rest of the season to prove his detractors wrong and claim the Championship’s Golden Boot by banging in the goals to lead the Whites back to the Premier League.
However, there is a feeling that Leeds would need a proven performer up front next season if they find themselves back in the top flight.
Junior Firpo – Will the club give him a new deal if they earn promotion?
Firpo’s three assists against Cardiff City last weekend showed what Leeds were missing when the left-back was out injured due to a hamstring problem since December. His attacking output from left-back adds a different dimension to the Leeds team and they are more difficult to contain by opposition defences.
However, the Dominican was one of the players who struggled when Leeds were last in the Premier League and his defensive frailties were badly exposed. He has resurrected his career in the last 18 months but question marks remain over his suitability at the absolute top level.
He will be out of contract at the end of the season and will certainly leave the club if Leeds do not get promoted to the Premier League for the second year running.
However, there are suggestions even Leeds could consider not offering him a new deal if they get promoted as they remember how he played in the top flight previously.
Farke has to make a call on whether Firpo has improved in the last two years or whether the Leeds squad need a left-back who is more of a secure defender when they get back to the Premier League.
