Leeds United have had a real pruning of their squad so far this summer, with no fewer than 17 departures already, and more could yet take place ahead of the 2024/25 season getting underway.
Despite enjoying a fine season and clocking up a points tally that would ordinarily win a club automatic promotion, Leeds will have to plan their next steps for the coming season in the Championship after missing out on promotion to the top flight, meaning plenty of players will be leaving the club, with many out of contract this summer.
The departures already include the likes of Luke Ayling, Lewis Bate, Robin Koch, Jamie Shackleton, and Ian Poveda upon the expiry of their contracts, whilst Jack Harrison, Darko Gyabi, Sonny Perkins, and Sam Greenwood have sealed loan exits.
Meanwhile, the further sales for more nominal fees from Marc Roca, Kristoffer Klaesson, Charlie Cresswell, Diego Llorente, and Glen Kamara have all helped Farke and his team in raising necessary funds to help balance the books.
Despite those losses and having just missed out on automatic promotion, there will remain optimism that the club can be strong again next season, with Championship competition perhaps less fierce at the top-end of the division when looking at the teams that have gone up and come down.
The club are in a healthy place in many ways, with the majority of players under long contracts until 2027 or 2028 in most cases, but there are some who have already entered the final 12 months of their deals this summer.
Here, amid yet another busy end of the summer for Daniel Farke and the Leeds hierarchy to navigate, we have taken a look at the players who will see their contracts expire in 2025.
Junior Firpo
The Athletic reported earlier last season that Leeds were not planning to offer Junior Firpo a new contract. It has also been claimed that the Whites would be willing to listen to offers for Firpo in the summer but he has since proven to be a key member of the side in the latter stages of the 2023/24 campaign.
Failure to cash in on the left-back this summer would also mean the club would be at risk of losing him for nothing in the summer of 2025 due to his expiring contract, which sees him amongst the top earners at Elland Road – unsurprising given that he came from Barcelona.
The 27-year-old has given them food for thought at the back end of the season, though, having made 33 appearances for the Whites, contributing to eight assists (Transfermarkt). Not only that, but he has become one of the club’s most consistent and reliable performers since the turn of the year.
| Junior Firpo’s career stats – per Transfermarkt | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| Real Betis | 43 | 5 | 7 |
| FC Barcelona | 41 | 2 | 3 |
| Leeds United | 84 | 2 | 12 |
While he has never been the strongest in general defensive situations, Firpo has enormous upside in possession and has the ability to contribute to the Leeds attack consistently down the left-hand side. He will overlap, and, crucially, hold the width. He is able to do this as he plays on his strong foot, and is the only out-and-out left-footed full-back at the club, which opens up passing angles in build up and crossing opportunities in the final third, where his dynamic with Crysencio Summerville was particularly impressive.
It was always clear that he had the talent in possession, and if Firpo could avoid the injuries that had so far blighted his Leeds career, then the club had a solution to their left-back problem. There is plenty to be said of some continuity and consistency heading into next season, and that could see the club’s stance change on Firpo, and possibly extend his current deal further. Especially as there are no obvious signs so far this summer that he is set to leave the club for a new challenge.
Sam Byram
Sam Byram re-signed for Leeds last summer following the club’s relegation to the Championship. The full-back had initially left the Whites back in 2016 to join West Ham, before ending up at Norwich City in 2019. A one-year deal was agreed for the 30-year-old to make his return to West Yorkshire, with an automatic trigger if he surpassed a certain number of games.
The club have already said farewell to plenty of full-backs as it stands, abut one who remained after he surpassed the expectations of many is Byram, who has been a consistent and reliable performer at right or left-back. He switched between the two over the course of the season, having to fill in for Firpo during the first half of the campaign, and that has seen him meet the clause in his deal to remain for another year.
The jury remains out on how long Leeds will retain him for due to a poor injury record at this stage, but if Byram can stay fit enough again, then he has previously proved an impressive operator at this level and could well receive a further extension if he continues on his current trajectory, irrespective of which league Leeds are in next year.
It’s not abundantly clear what is next for Byram’s Leeds career, with the 30-year-old impressing in both full-back positions, and providing Farke with that versatility. He is also a player the German knows well and continuity could be a reason to extend his deal, but injuries have caught up to him in the second half of the season, and his place in the pecking order has also dropped.
Perhaps the Whites will look for younger, less injury-prone options at full-back instead for 2025/26. But Byram has plenty of Premier League and second tier experience. However, if he is willing to sign another one-year deal, then it could be a smart move to give Farke depth of options in that area going forward, even if the ceiling in terms of his quality is not as high as Firpo, nor Jayden Bogle.
Sonny Perkins
Sonny Perkins completed a temporary exit from Elland Road in the summer and one to Oxford United that looked like a good move on paper for most parties involved after they signed the forward on a season-long loan. That failed move to the U’s ended in January when he returned to the Whites and having already represented both clubs, he was unable to head out on loan again.
He joined the Whites in the summer of 2022 from West Ham United, signing a three-year contract, but has played only four first-team games since then. Perkins has impressed at youth level, though, competing in the Premier League 2 for the Leeds U-21 side and helping them gain promotion. He has contributed to 17 goals in 28 appearances for the Leeds youth team previously, so needed the next step into senior football.
After the disappointment of last season, the best thing for everyone this summer was always likely to be a fresh start, which he may be able to get on loan at Leyton Orient, where his youth career began, in League One.
It’s hard to see him rejuvenating his Whites career at this point but a strong campaign in the third tier could turn heads at Elland Road.