Leeds United transfer news, rumours and gossip: Live updates and latest on deals, signings, loans and contracts
14 – 17 minutes
Leeds in talks for Udinese’s Bijol
Latest from Sky in Italy’s Luca Bendoni and Sky Sports’ Zinny Boswell:
Leeds United are in talks with Udinese for centre-back Jaka Bijol.
Discussions are ongoing with the Italian club over a fee for the 26-year-old.
The Slovenia international has two years left on his deal at Udinese.
Leeds make first summer signing
Leeds United have signed Lukas Nmecha on a free transfer after his contract expired at VfL Wolfsburg.
The 26-year-old forward will officially become a Leeds United player on July 1 and is the first confirmed arrival for Daniel Farke’s side of the summer transfer window, having spent the last four years playing in the Bundesliga.
Radrizzani exclusive on promotion, mistakes and Elland Road
Former Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani speaks exclusively to Tim Thornton on Leeds’ promotion to the Premier League, recruitment mistakes and Elland Road redevelopment.
Firpo returning to Spain?
Defender Junior Firpo has received a proposal from Real Betis to re-join the club, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.
Firpo featured 32 times for Leeds last season as the club were crowned Championship winners, scoring four times and claiming an impressive 10 assists.
His contract at Elland Road expires at the end of June, and despite reports the club has offered him a renewal, no agreement has been reached.
The full-back is available this summer as a free agent.
‘Leeds interested in Villa defender’
Leeds are interested in Aston Villa defender Alex Moreno, according to talkSPORT.
Villa reportedly value the player at around £5m.
The 32-year-old spent last season on loan at Nottingham Forest, making 15 appearances and recording one assist in the Premier League, after originally joining Villa in January 2023.
His current deal is set to expire in 2026.
‘Leeds interested in Newcastle’s Pope’
Leeds are interested in signing Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope, according to The Times.
Newcastle are being linked with a move for Burnley shot-stopper James Trafford but Eddie Howe reportedly wants the 22-year-old to compete with Pope for the starting role at St James’ Park next season.
Leeds’ summer transfer plans
The newly-promoted side want to spend big to stay up and strengthen the entire spine of their team, and could spend more than £100m doing so.
A new goalkeeper, centre-back, central midfield and striker are priorities for the club. Sky Sports News has already reported their interest in Beto and Caoimhin Kelleher.
They are willing to spend around £30m on each of those positions, which could already take them past the £120m mark, and then look to move on to bolster options in both full-back positions and the right wing, with younger more promising players preferred.
First summer transfer window is open!
It is June 1 and that means the early summer transfer window is open for clubs to do business.
The window is open until June 10 ahead of the newly expanded Club World Cup – but it is not restricted to the 32 teams competing.
That means there could be a flurry of transfer activity over the next week or so – and the Transfer Centre will have all the latest for you to follow along.
The summer window will re-open again on June 16 with Deadline Day taking place on September 1.
If you want to see what every Premier League team has planned for the summer, we’ve got you covered right here.
‘Lyon pushing to sign Firpo’
Lyon have made a proposal to Leeds left-back Junior Firpo to sign him on a free transfer, reports Fabrizio Romano.
Firpo’s deal is set to expire at Leeds at the end of June and Lyon are reportedly pushing with AC Milan also keen if Theo Hernandez departs this summer.
Leeds join race to sign Liverpool’s Kelleher
Latest from Sky Sports News’ Lyall Thomas:
Liverpool value goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher above £20m after Brentford made an approach for the Republic of Ireland international.
Leeds and West Ham are also thought to be keen on the player.
Brentford value Mark Flekken in the region of £15m amid interest from Erik ten Hag’s Bayer Leverkusen.
According to Sky Germany, Leverkusen are discussing a fee of around £12m (€14m).
Bayer also have a contract until 2028 ready and waiting for the Dutchman once a deal between the clubs is agreed.
Leeds set to face AC Milan in final pre-season clash
Leeds will face AC Milan in Dublin in a pre-season friendly on August 9.
The fixture will be played at the Aviva Stadium and will be the final game before Daniel Farke’s side make their return to the Premier League one week later.
The two sides have not met since the Champions League group stages in the 2000/01 campaign. This will be the third time they have played each other.
Managing director Robbie Evans said: “We are delighted to head to Dublin to play a prestigious opponent in a world-class venue.
“We have a fantastic following across Ireland, with many supporters regularly making the commute to Elland Road.
“AC Milan as an opponent will not only be wonderful for our supporters but will be an excellent final preparation for re-entry into the challenge of Premier League football.”
‘Leeds owners to issue £120m of new shares’
Leeds’ owners will issue around £120m worth of new shares in the club ahead of their return to the Premier League, reports The Athletic.
The sum will be put towards Ellard Road’s redevelopment and the summer transfer window.
Shareholders have sought to give the club its best chance of avoiding relegation by investing money.
Following promotion, Leeds chairman Paraag Marathe said: “You’ve got to nail your transfers. You’ve got to nail the players that come in, that really fit the style of play you want to have, that fit the club and play together cohesively.”
Sky Sports to show 215 live PL games from next season
From next season, Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage will increase from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live.
And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games next season are on Sky Sports.
Leeds United Q&A: Ex-owner Radrizzani opens up on difficult exit and club’s future
Former Leeds United owner and chairman Andrea Radrizzani discusses his difficult exit from the club and why he believes the current owners can take Leeds back into Europe…
Leeds want to become ‘one of the best clubs in all of Europe’
Leeds chairman Paraag Marathe said the Sky Bet Championship winners want to become “one of the best clubs in all of Europe” during their open-top bus parade.
The city centre came to a standstill on Monday as Daniel Farke’s side took to the streets to celebrate with their fans.
Leeds City Council’s earliest estimates were of 150,000 supporters gathered after Saturday’s win at Plymouth in their final game of the season saw them pip fellow promoted side Burnley to the title.
Leeds returned to the Premier League after a two-year absence and Marathe declared their bold ambitions from one of three parading buses.
Club owners 49ers Enterprises completed a full takeover of Leeds in July 2023 and Marathe said: “I don’t think anyone realised, this wasn’t f****** easy. This was really hard to do.
“Two years of getting to this point, but all that hard work and all that difficulty, makes right now that much more rewarding and makes today so special.
“I hope I never forget this moment. I want to live in this moment as much as I can.
“This is a journey, this is not the end. We have to keep going, this is what Leeds does.
“We are going to have some difficulties, but we are going to get where we want to go and we are going to be one of the best clubs in all of Europe.”
City centre streets were closed at 8am and supporters gathered hours before the players’ bus began its crawl down Wellington Street at 1pm towards the City Square and then along the Headrow to the Town Hall.
The short route took almost two hours as fans lined the streets, gathered on balconies, climbed trees and scaled lamp posts and traffic lights to gain a better vantage point.
Both Leeds and Burnley finished on 100 points – the first time two Championship sides have hit the landmark in the same season – but Leeds’ superior goal difference saw them claim the trophy.
The Whites have returned to the Premier League at the second attempt following relegation in 2023, with last season ending in play-off final heartache.
They last won top-flight promotion under former head coach Marcelo Bielsa, who led them to the Championship title in 2020.
That came during the Covid pandemic – the final nine games were played behind closed doors – and success under Farke is the first time Leeds have celebrated promotion with their fans since 1990.
Leeds chairman ‘ends speculation’ and backs Farke
Leeds chairman Paraag Marathe has backed Daniel Farke to lead the club in the Premier League, insisting the German is “his man”.
After winning promotion back to the top flight last month, Farke’s side secured the Championship title in dramatic fashion with a 2-1 win at Plymouth on Saturday.
Despite Leeds reaching 100 points, reports had suggested the club were considering making a change in the dugout, but Marathe said he had “ended speculation” with his endorsement in a round of interviews.
“I’m very excited to run it back with Daniel and collaborate with him,” Marathe told BBC Radio Leeds.
“I’m under no illusions that it is going to be easy. The past two seasons the three promoted teams came straight back down but we have something they don’t have, we have Daniel Farke first of all.”
Asked whether he had ended the question marks over the manager Marathe responded: “I have ended the speculation. He is my man.”
The chairman continued: “He is such a calming force – presence would be an understatement.
“He has that conviction and belief and I told him privately that I was looking forward to moving forward together, but I didn’t feel like it was my time to speak because someone wanted to put out a rumour.
“Together we are going to build the best squad we can, with every penny we are allowed to spend to be competitive in the Premier League.
“We are going to attack the transfer market and it’s something I’m really excited about.”
Ipswich’s McKenna happy to offer advice to promoted sides
Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna says Leeds manager Daniel Farke and Burnley’s Scott Parker can give him a call for advice on how to handle life in the Premier League – but warned the gap from the Championship is only getting bigger.
Ipswich’s immediate return to the second tier was confirmed with last weekend’s 3-0 loss to Newcastle, making it a second successive season in which all three promoted sides suffered immediate relegation as Leicester and Southampton were already heading down.
Sky Brightcove VideoNewcastle score three to condemn 10-player Ipswich to relegation
Leeds and Burnley have secured promotion from the Championship, with the play-offs to determine who else joins them, but they are already the favourites to suffer the drop next term given the growing difference in quality and resources between the two divisions.
Asked if he could offer any advice to those coming up, McKenna said: “My phone is reachable if anyone wants to pick it up. I certainly picked up my phone last year to teams who were in this position, as I’m sure teams did in the year before that.
“That’s pretty common practice. Again, they will be private discussions. As I’ve said before, the gap is certainly big and getting bigger.
“It’s clear for everyone to see what was pitched as maybe the highest-level top end of the Championship ever last season, three teams with 90-plus points for the first time, two of whom were really established Premier League clubs over the last decade – and Leeds, who didn’t manage to make it, also in the mix.
“Those three teams have all fallen short for different reasons this year. It’s clear that the gap is big. Of course, when that happens for two seasons in a row, that’s 17 teams then who have two full seasons of Premier League money and everything that comes with that.
“It makes it harder for everyone to catch up.”
Farke: I don’t need public backing from Leeds
Daniel Farke denied he needed public backing from Leeds’ owners after reports claimed he may be sacked as manager this summer – despite leading the club back to the Premier League.
Newspaper claims cited Farke’s underwhelming top-flight record with Norwich as the reason for the Elland Road hierarchy’s doubts over whether he was the right person to lead them into the division, with talks expected with chairman Paraag Marathe this week.
But Farke told Sky Sports: “No, right now it’s not about talks or the Premier League or next season. Now it’s just about this special day. It’s one of the most important days in the history of this club.
“I’ve always spoken about why I signed a long-term contract here. I wanted to steady the ship and reunite the club with its fans and playing squad.
“I wanted to create values and bring this club back to the Premier League. The next thing is to make it an established Premier League side because it belongs there.
“But in the last 23 years we spent just three years there, one really good year under Marcelo Bielsa and two years of struggling.
“At the moment, we are not allowed to label ourselves as an established Premier League side, but that’s the next step. The foundation is there and now it’s about building on it.”
Revealed: First pictures of 53,000-seater Elland Road redevelopment
Leeds United have released pictures of what a redeveloped Elland Road stadium could look like.
Leeds reveal what redeveloped Elland Road could look like
Leeds have revealed proposed images for the development of Elland Road.
Plans were mapped out in September 2024 to modernise and improve the stadium.
This would increase the capacity from 37,645 to 56,500, with the current design taking the capacity to 53,000.
“An evolution of what makes Elland Road great, the revitalisation of the West and North Stands, along with changes to the South Stand, will provide greatly improved general admission and hospitality facilities, to help meet the demand for tickets, with 26,000 supporters currently on the club’s season ticket waiting list,” read a club statement.
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