This summer will see Leeds United make a whole heap of changes and that could include the manager, while a number of players in the squad will also choose whether to stay, or go.
There have been numerous suggestions that Daniel Farke could be sacked by The 49ers despite winning promotion back to the Premier League as Championship winners. His Premier League record is worrying.
There are also a number of players that will now likely leave Leeds. Phil Hay thinks Illan Meslier is “done”, Josuha Guilavogui will “almost certainly” leave and Graham Smyth can see Patrick Bamford leaving Leeds.
But one player that is set to remain even if he is not impacting the first team on the pitch, is goalkeeper Alex Cairns. The veteran has one year left on the two-year contract he signed in the summer of 2024.
Simon Grayson shares what he told Leeds stopper Alex Cairns
Cairns came up through The Thorp Arch academy but only ever made one senior appearance for Leeds, coming on at half-time against Blackpool in the game Leeds fans remember Paul Rachubka by.
He has since enjoyed a superb career in The Football League with Fleetwood Town and Salford before returning to Leeds in 2023. Farke’s third-choice goalkeeper, Cairns gives Leeds a homegrown member.
Speaking to LUTV, Grayson said he spoke to Cairns recently and shared what he told him – as well as saying what Cairns told him about being at Leeds, even if he has not actually played a single game.
“Cairnsy, what a great lad he is. The life and soul of the dressing room. I gave him his debut here years ago. I said to him a few weeks ago, ‘you’ve won the lottery coming back here’,” Grayson told LUTV.
“He’s loved every minute of it, he’s so well-respected among the rest of the players – he’s not kicked a ball but that shows how much he does behind the scenes,” Grayson continued, on his chat with Cairns.
Saturday showed how highly Leeds squad rate Alex Cairns
When Cairns joined the club from Salford, the goalkeeper knew he wouldn’t play much. Cairns even admitted that his job was to help morale in the dressing room, and it certainly seems he is doing that.
Cairns has played third-fiddle to Illan Meslier and Karl Darlow and has even sat on the Leeds bench at times this season. Each player held the trophy aloft on Saturday, and there was a big cheer for Cairns.
Among fans, but also players. In similar vein to Josuha Guilavogui, Cairns is at Leeds to provide help behind the scenes. A player that is clearly good for morale, but also able to help registration rules.
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