Why Leeds United have offered new contract to 21-minute hot prospect on verge of predicted exit — YEP 7/6/24

By Graham Smyth

Leeds United have offered a new contract to Cody Drameh, despite the 22-year-old's almost inevitable Elland Road exit.

Drameh played just 21 minutes of Championship action for Daniel Farke's Whites last season before joining Birmingham City for a loan that ran from September to the end of the campaign. That stint, which brought 29 Championship appearances for the relegated Blues, was his third loan move since asking Marcelo Bielsa if he could get gametime elsewhere in January 2022.

The youngster impressed in his first temporary transfer, to Cardiff City, stringing together a host of solid or impressive performances and taking the Player and Young Player of the Year awards despite not playing a full season. Though Jesse Marsch expressed admiration for the right-back, Drameh played a solitary Premier League game in the first half of the 2022/23 season, before spending the second half of it on loan with Luton Town, with whom he won promotion while Leeds suffered relegation.

Once again Drameh returned to Leeds for pre-season and showed determination to stay and fight for a place in the team, but after an untimely injury right at the start of the season, his only run out came at Ipswich Town as a 24th minute substitute. By half-time he had been substituted.

Speaking after the 4-3 win Farke said: "My thought was Cody because he's physically a really good player, good pace and you know that he's capable. Also he plays in the full-back position on the right side but also I got the feeling he can handle the quality and the pace of Burns. [But] it was difficult for him to come into such a hectic game and I won't blame him at all. Obviously he was involved in the second goal and two or three times Burns was in his back but it was my decision also to let him play that, so if someone wants to blame someone then definitely not Cody because he's brilliant. Always has a great attitude, always with good training intensity, sadly he missed two or three weeks in pre-season and it wasn't the easiest way for him to come late into the first competitive game during the season. So if someone is to blame them it's my decision to play him on the left side and yes, for that it didn't look that great."

Drameh promptly left to play for Birmingham on loan, in the final year of his contract with Leeds. Luke Ayling, who like Drameh found match minutes hard to come by, also went out on loan to Middlesbrough midway through a season that saw Farke hand most of the right-back minutes to teenager Archie Gray, with Sam Byram and January loan signing from Burnley Connor Roberts also featuring in the position.

And though Drameh's surplus to requirements status this season has ultimately spelled the end for his time with Leeds, which began with a 2020 £1.5m move from Fulham and a hugely impressive start to life with the Under 21s, the Whites have decided to offer him a new contract. The reasons for that are largely financial. Because he is under the age of 24, Leeds will be due some measure of compensation from whoever signs him this summer. In the majority of cases clubs simply come to an agreement on a fee but if not, the matter could go before a tribunal.

The EFL will publish all of the retained lists at 5pm on Friday June 7, sparking speculation on the future of a host of free agents, but few will pose as intriguing a prospect as Drameh given his age, ability and the 67 Championship appearances, not to mention a promotion via the play-offs, that he already has under his belt. For second tier sides in England, at the very least, he will be hot property this summer. So even though Leeds have taken a step to ensure they are compensated financially for his expected departure, the what-ifs will remain for one who will surely now get away, permanently.

Leeds United reveal retained list with deal clause triggered, 11 released and senior pair in talks

Leeds United defender Sam Byram has triggered a fresh contract extension and club captain Liam Cooper remains in talks over his Elland Road future but 11 players are to be released this summer.

The Whites have published their 2024 retained list, confirming who will depart at the end of their current contracts this summer. The futures of club stalwarts and 2020 promotion heroes Luke Ayling and Stuart Dallas were already known - the former has signed for Middlesbrough and the latter forced into retirement through injury - but leaving the club with them will be a number of youngsters. Northern Ireland Under 21 international Charlie Allen, Dutch Under 21 international Dani van den Heuvel, former Chelsea midfielder Lewis Bate and wing pair Ian Poveda and Keenan Carole will all depart. Poveda is currently being pursued by Sheffield Wednesday, who liked what they saw from the ex-Manchester City prospect during his loan stint at Hillsborough. Under 21s Cuba Diboe, Scott Godden, Morten Spencer and Harvey Sutcliffe are also making their Thorp Arch exits.

Van den Heuvel struggled to break into the senior squad, despite progressing at youth international level, while Allen found himself out on loan with York City in the National League in the second half of the season, while Bate and Poveda were both farmed out to MK Dons and Sheffield Wednesday respectively for temporary spells which all-but signalled the end of their time with Leeds. Loan trio Jaidon Anthony, Connor Roberts and Joe Rodon will return to their parent clubs Bournemouth, Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur respectively, though Leeds’ interest in Rodon means a return for next season, potentially on a permanent basis, cannot yet be ruled out.

Byram, who signed a one-year deal to return to Elland Road last summer as part of Daniel Farke’s new-look Leeds, triggered a one-year extension clause in that contract to remain with the Whites for a second crack at promotion. The versatile full-back played 33 times, despite some injury issues, in the Championship campaign, 24 of which were starts. He and Junior Firpo are the club’s only natural full-backs as the transfer window beckons, though 18-year-old Archie Gray shone at right-back for large periods of the season.

The other senior player whose deal is due to come to an end is centre-half Cooper, who is approaching a decade at Leeds United. Farke handed the 32-year-old just eight starts in the league last season and gametime is likely to be a major consideration as talks continue over the possibility of a new deal. Cooper, expected to be named in the Scotland squad for the European Championships, received interest from Saudi Arabia last summer but elected to stay and play an unfamiliar role as a non-playing leader for much of the campaign. Leeds say they are also in talks with utility man and academy graduate Jamie Shackleton, who also struggled for match minutes under Farke. Shackleton, who can operate at full-back and in midfield, started seven times in the Championship, though niggling injuries once again played a part in his season.

Leeds have already offered fresh contracts to Under 21 prospects Harry Christy, Joseph Snowdon and Luca Thomas. Cody Drameh, who spent the season out on loan with Birmingham City and is expected to seek a future elsewhere, has also been offered a deal. At academy level, five scholars - namely Connor Douglas, Reuben Lopata-White, Joseph Richards, Daniel Toulson and Marley Wilson - have all been offered their first ever professional contracts. And Under 18s defender Oscar Dawber has had a third year scholarship option activated.