Mighty Leeds Weblog

By Graham Smyth Leeds United are working with the city council to bid for hosting rights for 2035 FIFA Women's World Cup games. Elland Road is in line for redevelopment under proposals that have been submitted for planning approval this summer. The plans would take the stadium's capacity from just over 36,000 to around 53,000 with a new West Stand followed by an enhanced North Stand. England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are set to host the 2035 Women's World Cup and stadiums must meet certain criteria to be considered. Leeds believe their redevelopment plans will make Elland Road a 'leading candidate' to host international tournament games. City councillors will be asked to approve the submission of a bid when they meet at Civic Hall on Wednesday September 17. A statement said: "Leeds United’s Elland Road Stadium could be in line to host matches in the 2035 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Working with Leeds City Council on a bid for the city, all poten...

What could have been Written by: Patrick Gunn Every year I forget how early the international break arrives, and every year I’m annoyed by it. But while Leeds United’s season might be coming to its first, premature pause, some leagues around Europe are heading towards their conclusion. One of those, Sweden’s Allsvenskan, is set for a potentially exciting and groundbreaking title-race, alongside numerous clubs fighting for survival at the wrong end. And, in our own way, Leeds United is involved at both ends of the competition. Those of you who read my article in issue one of the magazine (and if you haven’t, you can read it for free here) will know that I spent a little time looking into the Swedish players who have represented Leeds over the years, in the hope that Gabi Gudmundsson will be the first to really live up to expectations. In that process, I realised that, in one of those lovely kind of coincidences that football throws up at times, two of the individuals I was writing...

By Mark Carruthers Leeds United are still being linked with Fulham and Wales star Harry Wilson after a failed summer transfer window deadline day move. There was late frustration for Leeds United as they missed out on the opportunity to sign one of their key targets during the final hours of the summer transfer window. After spending around £100 million on ten new additions to Daniel Farke’s squad in the aftermath of their Championship title win, the Whites were still keen to add a winger to their ranks as the clock ticked agonisingly towards the 7pm deadline last Monday evening. A move for Fulham and Wales star Harry Wilson was put into action as the Cottagers looked to reinforce their options in wide areas before authorising a departure and deals for Brazilian winger Kevin and AC Milan forward Samuel Chukwueze appeared to have signalled a green light for the Whites. The YEP understands a deal sheet was submitted to the Premier League to allow Leeds up to two additional hours ...

by Kris Sanyal Mateo Joseph pushed hard to leave Leeds United in the last summer transfer window. He didn’t turn up for pre-season training after enjoying an extended break and forced Daniel Farke to push him out of his plans. He eventually joined Spanish side Mallorca on loan. Leeds were insistent that they were not going to include an option to buy in any loan agreement, which scuppered the Spaniard’s chances of joining Real Betis, who were trying to sign the young striker since the last January transfer window. Mallorca stepped in and convinced the forward to join them, while agreeing to Leeds’ demands of a simple loan deal with no mechanism to turn it into a permanent deal at the end of the season. Joseph is yet to score for Mallorca, and a dressing room situation at the club is threatening to sour his return to Spain this season. However, Leeds retain high hopes for the striker in the future. Leeds managing director Robbie Evans insisted that Joseph needed to be loaned o...

by Kris Sanyal Leeds United manager Daniel Farke kept on pleading for more attackers towards the end of the window. However, on transfer deadline day, the club failed to bring in even one attacking reinforcement as the Whites fumbled and failed in the final hours. The ramifications of Leeds missing out on Wales winger Harry Wilson on deadline day when Fulham changed their mind about selling the Welshman with just minutes left in the transfer window are still reverberating at Elland Road. Leeds are insistent that a bad deadline day should not overshadow the good work they did over the course of the summer window. However, the team do look short in the final third, and are yet to score in the Premier League from open play after three league games. Wilson was a high-profile miss on deadline day, but the club did fall short of attracting a few other players, who chose other options over Elland Road over the course of the window. Journalist Pete O’Rourke has taken stock of the tra...

He is keen on a return to English football By Will Jenkins Leeds United are reportedly keen on securing the services of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. The 32-year-old saw his contract terminated with Turkish outfit Besiktas in August. He was initially contracted to remain with the club until 2026, but the Turkish side paid him approximately £1.5m to conclude his deal prematurely. As an unattached player, Oxlade-Chamberlain can be recruited outside the transfer window, which concluded earlier this week. The Premier League champion with Liverpool is understood to be eager to return to English football, with Leeds amongst the clubs expressing interest, though the Whites face rivalry from Championship outfit Birmingham City. "Oxlade-Chamberlain is available as well. A number of clubs have been having a look at him," transfer correspondent Pete O'Rourke told Football Insider. "He's got a great CV, played for Arsenal and Liverpool, he's a Champions League and...

The Leeds United favourite returned to Thorp Arch this summer in the first step towards his goal Leeds United cult hero Jonny Howson says his ultimate intention is to go into management when he fully retires from professional football -with his role with the club's under-21s being a first step towards that. The midfielder returned to his boyhood club as a player-coach in the academy this summer. He has already turned out for the under-21s, who are allowed a limited number of over-age players. The idea with Howson’s role is to guide youngsters as an in-game on-field mentor. The 37-year-old left Middlesbrough this summer after 340 appearances for the Riverside outfit. He featured against Leeds in last season’s Championship campaign. Howson is now back at the club where he made his break into senior football, and ended up making 225 first team outings. In an interview with sister title the Teesside Gazette, Howson outlined his mindset when it comes to future aspirations. “As...

Miran Rahman Sports and stadium interior design specialist, DT Sports, has again teamed up with Leeds United FC to design and deliver a collection of hospitality suites and corporate entertaining spaces at Elland Road. The project, which comprises 12,000 sq ft of refurbished hospitality space, was planned so it could be delivered during the summer closed season ahead of the club’s return to Premier League football. Four new suites include the LUFC 1919 Suite; The Gary Speed Suite; Peter Lorimer Steakhouse; and The Hisense Leeds Lounge. LUFC 1919 is a premium suite for 60 people and its name references the year the club was established. The Gary Speed Suite has been designed to host up to 150 guests while also providing a flexible venue for conferences and meetings on non-match days. The Hisense Leeds Lounge can accommodate 350 guests in a flexible dining suite for both matchday and non-matchday use. Finally, the Peter Lorimar Steakhouse is a contemporary take on a classic...

The winger will spend the season on loan at Valencia, but there are deeper reasons Leeds United have omitted a purchase option By now, many supporters will have seen the comments from Leeds United managing director Robbie Evans explaining why the club did not insert a purchase clause in Large Ramazani’s loan to Valencia. Speaking to Leeds Live and other local media on Tuesday, Evans said: “We insisted we have the option to bring him back to the club. This year we've added Jack Harrison and Noah Okafor, making it even harder for him to get the pitch. “For him to get the minutes he needs, he's better off playing in Spain. He's being coached by someone that we know and trust. And we hope that's good for him and that his future is open here, if that's the right thing for him.” So, there is a possible future for Ramazani at Leeds. There is also further context behind his loan exit, as understood by Leeds Live. Inside sources have outlined that it was clear quit...

By Graham Smyth Leeds United managing director Robbie Evans says they had a bad deadline day but a good window having ‘maxed out’ their spending under Profitability and Sustainability regulations. The Whites went into the final day of the summer transfer window aiming for one last piece of the puzzle - a right winger who could also play inside and take set-pieces. Over the weekend they were led to believe that Fulham could be persuaded to let Harry Wilson leave and a deal was worked on until the deadline. When the Cottagers decided to keep the Welsh international Leeds were left empty handed, fuelling concerns over the lack of creativity and top flight attacking ability in their forward line. Though Leeds have picked up four points from their opening three games they have not looked dangerous enough in open play and their only goal has come from the penalty spot. Amid a backlash from supporters over the way the window ended and unfavourable comparisons to fellow Premier League ne...

Adam Elliott The 49ers and their recruitment team signed 10 players for Leeds United, which includes Adam Underwood, Robbie Evans, and Alex Davies. James Justin became the final signing of Leeds United’s summer, with attacking additions after August 25 proving to be elusive for the 49ers to bolster Daniel Farke’s ranks. Following a strong start to the window, Leeds had seven new additions by July 26. It was an outstanding start, in spite of failed pursuits of Habib Diarra and Igor Paixao, with Adam Underwood’s role detailed within that. It left the club with more than five weeks to finish off the squad. However, there were 20 days between Lucas Perri coming in and Dominic Calvert-Lewin and signings were not going at all according to plan. The final pieces of the puzzle in attack saw Noah Okafor sign, but it was Justin who added depth at full-back as their final addition. Facundo Buonanotte fell through, while Fulham blocked Harry Wilson’s deadline day move. How Leeds’ hiera...

Will Butcher Patrick Bamford is a free agent after Leeds United terminated his contract a year before it was due to expire. Since his Elland Road departure, nothing has materialised regarding a new club. But that changed on Tuesday evening. Reports emerged out of nowhere that Brendan Rodgers was keen to lure one-time England man Patrick Bamford to Celtic, after failing to sign a striker on deadline day. It is claimed that Celtic have missed out on Denmark international Kasper Dolberg, while a late move for Celtic striker David Fofana fell through. He chose Charlton, but that was too late to get over the line. Meanwhile, Celtic are left light up top, and Bamford held talks over a move to Parkhead. However, any hope of Bamford moving to the Scottish champions was quickly diminished by late Tuesday evening. Alongside Bamford, reports said Celtic had also looked at Emmanuel Dennis after he left Nottingham Forest on a free. But on Tuesday evening, Rodgers completed a reunion with ...

By Kyle Newbould Daniel Farke has four months to keep his Leeds United side competitive before the transfer window re-opens. Only time will tell if Leeds United did enough over the summer to ensure Premier League survival but one thing is for sure - they wanted to do more. Four points from three games - two against Champions League opposition - presents a competitive start and that is exactly what Leeds have been: competitive. Daniel Farke reiterated the need for attacking quality on multiple occasions, however, and his wish was not granted come 7pm on Monday. Such is the nature of football that already, attention is being focused on January and the business Leeds must do, regardless of the position they find themselves in as 2026 draws closer. Below, the YEP takes a look at three key decisions they need to take when the window re-opens. Attacking quality the priority once again Farke admitted after Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Newcastle United it would be ‘difficult’ to surviv...

  Come and join Gary McAllister, Tony Dorigo and Mel Sterland with compere Jed Stone at WILKO92 LIVE in Bradford 3 October

Fake tales of San Francisco Words by: Chris McMenamy There’s a very apt Arctic Monkeys song that sums up Paraag Marathe’s carefully stage managed posturing in the media at various stages of the summer. ‘Fake Tales of San Francisco’ is a banger, but I’ll use another one: Anticipation has a habit to set you up For disappointment in evening entertainment In speaking to Sky Sports before Leeds’ opening game against Everton, swearing on an open top bus and spilling state secrets to the Daily Mail, the Leeds United chair did his best to get the fans in a state of excitement not seen since The Beatles landed in America. Leeds have made ten signings since promotion was confirmed back in May, a figure not seen since the summer of 2017 when Victor Orta lost the plot like your granny at a car boot sale, plucking almost any young footballer who’d played for a European club he had heard of. So where did it all go wrong? Why are we going into September feeling jilted? And should we cat...

By Kyle Newbould It’s been a tough three years for the midfielder since leaving Leeds United in 2022. Former Leeds United favourite Kalvin Phillips faces months without first-team football after failing to secure a summer move away from Manchester City. Phillips returned to Manchester from another unsuccessful loan spell, this time at Ipswich Town, in June and was widely expected to find a new permanent home this summer. But an Achilles injury eventually required surgery and reports at the time suggested the midfielder would not be fit until August. The former Leeds promotion hero is yet to fully recover and as the summer transfer window edged towards its conclusion, no credible links emerged. A return to Elland Road was touted in some reports but never appeared likely, with his high wages and fitness issues two of several stumbling blocks. Even on Monday with just hours of the window left and desperation kicking in across England and Europe, a prospective move never material...

The verdict on Leeds United's summer transfer window - what happened and what it means Leeds United’s transfer window can be defined in two halves; before Igor Paixao and after Igor Paixao. The summer started off so smoothly. Free agent Lukas Nmecha was a bolt from the blue. Jaka Bijol said yes to a Leeds United transfer before terms were settled. Sebastiaan Bornauw and Gabriel Gudmundsson shored up the defence. Only £20m was dished out. Leeds were preparing to jet off to Sweden when the news broke that a fourth bid for Sean Longstaff had been successful. The swift arrivals thereafter of Anton Stach and Lucas Perri during the pre-season tour in Germany had supporters back home buzzing. Both sporting director Adam Underwood and Robbie Evans were in Harsewinkel at various stages, though both had to make trips across borders during the week abroad. When the transfer window shifts, you have to move with it. Databases and luring techniques Leeds Live reported in early June t...

Platform 17 Written by: Rob Conlon It had been one of those weeks at Leeds United. While losing 5-0 at Arsenal could be brushed off as the depressing reality of the Premier League, getting knocked out of the League Cup by a bunch of children at Hillsborough led to justifiable alarm. Signing Facundo Buonanotte would have lifted the mood, yet briefing journalists he was on his way to Elland Road even though he hadn’t boarded a plane and subsequently missing out on a logical target whose skillset is missing from this squad only raised further questions about whether Leeds had really learned from their mistakes of the past or not. All those things only increased the pressure on Daniel Farke and his team ahead of a difficult game against Newcastle. Walking to the ground hardly helped lift spirits, the rain pouring down earlier than expected, leaving me drenched and ruining plans for a pint outside The Peacock before kick off. Thankfully, the announcement of the teamsheet proved Fark...