Meslier included: Leeds must axe £150k-p/w quartet if they go up..
Leeds United seemingly never do things the easy, well-planned out way, with another promotion collapse spectacularly playing out in front of their very eyes.
The Whites are now disastrously out of the automatic promotion spots in the Championship due to yet another late season drop in form, with Daniel Farke’s men only picking up one victory from their last six second-tier outings.
daniel farke
Not all hope will be lost that the West Yorkshire outfit can still get over the line and triumphantly go up automatically, however, with Sheffield United also showing chinks in their armour in second place, having succumbed to a surprise 1-0 loss to Oxford United recently.
Therefore, everything will remain crossed that Farke’s men do return back to the promised land of the Premier League, and if they were to get there, a small clear-out would likely need to take place at Elland Road to prepare for the unforgiving step-up in quality.
leeds-united-cardiff-illan-meslier
Illan Meslier could be out of the side for good in the daunting top-flight, with a whole host of other players – who have a combined wage cost of £150k-per-week including Meslier – needing to be ditched if Leeds want to solidify themselves as a Premier League capable outfit.
Illan Meslier
Meslier-Leeds
The easiest place to start when it comes to those who could be ditched in the near future is the scapegoated Meslier, with the French goalkeeper already finding himself out of Farke’s starting lineups.
Indeed, the ex-Lorient ‘keeper was dropped for Leeds’ most recent league clash away at Luton Town and for many a valid reason, considering the 6 foot 5 shot-stopper has tallied up three errors this campaign that have resulted in opposition goals.
He has picked up an impressive 72 clean sheets for Leeds away from this growing back catalogue of errors, but Meslier’s future at the promotion chasers looks to be on extremely thin ice, especially with fresh reports that new ‘keepers are being targeted ahead of the Whites’ potential return to the top division.
2
Patrick Bamford
Leeds-Patrick-Bamford
Alongside the £30k-per-week stopper, Patrick Bamford might well find he’s ditched permanently ahead of Leeds voyaging back up to the Premier League.
The £70k-per-week centre-forward wouldn’t be able to grumble for too long if he was let go of for good, considering the veteran attacker has made himself available for just one appearance this year so far for Farke’s men.
Bamford’s numbers this season for Leeds.
Stat
Bamford
Games played
12
Games started
0
Goals scored
0
Assists..
0
Wage per week
£70k-per-week
Wage costs over a season
£3.6m
Sourced by Transfermarkt/Capology.
The numbers above do make for some worrying reading – with the highest earner in the Whites camp goalless throughout 2024/25 to date – meaning the plug must be pulled soon.
3
Maximilian Wober
max-wober-leeds-united-academy-transfer-loan-james-debayo-farke
Much like Bamford, Maximilian Wober will surely want his up-and-down spell at Elland Road to end very soon.
The £35k-per-week centre-back has been sparingly utilised this campaign, much like the goal-shy centre-forward, having made just seven league appearances, with the likes of Joe Rodon and Pascal Struijk way ahead of the Austrian as defensive stalwarts.
max-wober-leeds
Wober’s miserable Premier League past with the Whites also works against him wanting to prolong his stay in West Yorkshire, with the 27-year-old already notching up a relegation on his Leeds CV when he collected a pitiful two clean sheets during the 2022-23 season.
Ilia Gruev
ilia-gruev-leeds-championship-farke
Lastly, Ilia Gruev could be swapped out for some new midfield talent if promotion is reached.
After all, the Whites already boast the likes of Ao Tanaka and Ethan Ampadu in the holding midfield positions away from the conversative number 44, alongside the fact Kalvin Phillips might well be up for a dramatic Elland Road reunion if his ex-employers jump up a league.
gruev-leeds-championship-farke-norwich
Much like Meslier before him, Farke has also been dropping Gruev here and there in recent games, with the German perhaps wanting better reinforcements over the Bulgarian down the line.
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