Leeds United will be a Premier League club next season and since promotion was secured, all the talk has been whether they can avoid the same fate as Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton.
There is growing concern that promoted sides are unable to bridge the gap between Championship and Premier League, even if they spend big. Alan Shearer though, said he is confident that will change soon.
Daniel Farke looks as though he is set to remain in the Leeds job, even if The 49ers have spoken to three potential replacements in Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Carlo’s son Davide Ancelotti and Roger Schmidt.
What is crucial, perhaps even more so than keeping Farke or hiring a new manager, is getting recruitment right. Adam Pope thinks Leeds need to spend north of £100m and bring in six major new signings.
Leeds now want “underrated” Newcastle United midfielder
Described as “underrated” by Harvey Barnes, Sean Longstaff has emerged as a target for Leeds in the next few months. That is according to The Independent, with Leeds looking to bring in Premier League quality.
Leeds will need midfielders. Josuha Guilavogui is expected to leave at the end of his contract and it is still unclear if Joe Rothwell will sign permanently at Elland Road, having starred on loan from Bournemouth.
Ethan Ampadu is shining at centre-back and may well stay in that role permanently, next season. That would leave The Whites with just Ao Tanaka and Ilia Gruev, and Longstaff has been identified as a target.
A player that has clocked up 170 Premier League appearances with Newcastle, having a hand in 19 goals from midfield. He is about to enter the final year of his Toon contract, unable to break into the starting XI.
It is not the first time Leeds have wanted Longstaff under Farke
Last summer, reports suggested that Leeds would target Longstaff if promoted but of course, The Whites suffered Wembley heartbreak in the play-off final. Now promoted, he remains on their summer shortlist.
It is of no criticism towards Longstaff that he is struggling to start at the moment, given Eddie Howe has one of the Premier League’s best midfield trio’s in Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton and Sandro Tonali.
According to TransferMarkt, Longstaff is represented by the same agency that looks after Leeds stopper Illan Meslier. That could help The Whites smooth over a deal in talks with the Newcastle lynchpin.
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