Leeds United’s squad are busy working hard over in Germany ahead of the start of the 2025-26 Premier League season and a return to England’s top tier after a two-year hiatus.
It is now less than a month until the Monday night opener against Everton at Elland Road and Daniel Farke’s side will be pushing for a win against David Moyes’ side, which will see Angus Kinnear return.
Already, Leeds’ squad looks different. Six new signings after the arrival of Anton Stach on Tuesday, costing a total fee of £19.9m including add-ons. Leeds are expected to make more before Everton.
Meanwhile, Jack Harrison has returned, while five others have left the club. Manor Solomon and Joe Rothwell’s loans ended, with Rothwell shining on debut for Rangers on Tuesday against Panathinaikos.
Josuha Guilavogui and Junior Firpo have left on free transfers, while Max Wober has left to join Werder Bremen on loan. Plenty of change, but Tony Dorigo says one current player needs a big pre-season.
Tony Dorigo says Largie Ramazani needs a big pre-season
While the likes of Lukas Nmecha, Sean Longstaff and Leeds’ other new signings need to make a big impression, there are a few current players who need to catch the eye of manager Farke this summer.
One of those is Largie Ramazani. A £10m signing, the Belgian showed quality in glimpses last term but injury prevented him from a run in the side. With Manor Solomon leaving, Ramazani has an opportunity.
During Leeds’ pre-season win over German side SC Verl, Dorigo highlighted the need for Ramazani to have a good pre-season on LUTV. Ramazani laid on two assists during the 4-1 win for The Whites.
“Ramazani, it’s a big pre-season for him as well. Because, certainly when he joined and initially played, he looked very good. That injury certainly scuppered him,” Dorigo said, during his role as co-commentator.
“Then it was all a bit of a struggle getting back into the side. He’ll be really determined this pre-season to keep fit, play well and put his hand up and say, I want to be in the first team,” Dorigo continued on LUTV.
Igor Paixao pursuit will hamper Ramazani’s chances of Leeds start
As things stand, Ramazani may be first choice to face Everton on August 18. Harrison has returned and has also impressed during his two starts in pre-season, but Ramazani has been making a difference.
Patrick Bamford said Ramazani is “flying” during the off-season and his two assists against Verl will be in Farke’s mind. But Leeds are ready to pay more than £26m to sign Igor Paixao, which hampers Ramazani.
Ramazani said he would welcome competition in his position, but if Paixao does sign on at Leeds and The Whites manage to see off competition from Marseille for the Feyenoord ace, Ramazani’s minutes reduce.
Receive a digest of our best Leeds content each week direct to your mailbox
