4 Leeds United players whose careers are at a real crossroads

Leeds United had a dreadful campaign during the 2022/23 season, having suffered relegation back to the Championship and will be keen to get to work this summer on bouncing straight back to the Premier League.

Work has already begun behind the scenes as preparations for the Championship continue to take shape for Leeds’ new majority owners, 49ers Enterprises.

There are plenty of first-team players in the Leeds squad who are not going to be playing Championship football next season, especially for those with a strong reputation as top-flight players and others who have played at international level, too.

The futures of some players is perhaps more clear, with senior players such as Rodrigo, Diego Llorente, Marc Roca, Robin Koch, Jack Harrison, Junior Firpo, and Tyler Adams not likely to be keen on a promotion push, and likely to leave.

Many of the aforementioned have already been linked with moves away from Elland Road and will depart this summer, although whilst you’d expect Leeds to reinvest money picked up through sales of those players into the first-team squad, there could be more of an emphasis in bringing through younger players into the senior setup.

What is the latest with Leeds’ squad ahead of 23/24?

Here, we look at the Leeds players currently at a crossroads in terms of their career and future at Elland Road…

Crysencio Summerville

Aston Villa, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, and PSV Eindhoven have all been credited with interest to some degree in the player.

He could stay with Leeds and play a regular role in their first-team next season, which would be good for his development.

However, he could also join any of the number of clubs interested in his services, and naturally he would be on more lucrative terms than he would at Leeds, you would imagine.

Cody Drameh

Football League World exclusively revealed that a quick resolution is wanted by all parties involved in the future of Drameh.

Burnley are one interested club, as are Luton where he starred in a side who gained promotion to the Premier League. Drameh is into the final year of his contract and needs to decide his next step carefully.

He could, of course, see himself as ready for the top-flight, or could be convinced by the prospect of regular game time at Leeds in a division where the 21-year-old has now made 41 appearances and is comfortable.

Wilfried Gnonto

Much like Summerville, Gnonto could be a star player in a team hunting promotion, and play far more regularly than he did last season as well.

At 19, game time is the most important thing for him right now, and Leeds may be able to offer that on a very regular basis, where other interested teams can’t.

However, there is interest from the likes of AC Milan and Fiorentina amongst others, and Gnonto may wish to play at a higher level to boost his hopes of continuing playing for the Italian national time. He has a decision to make this summer but Leeds will no doubt be pushing to retain him.

Joe Gelhardt

The 21-year-old needs this season to go well, as he is a prime example of someone needing his career to kick-start.

Leeds will be hoping that relegation means there is a greater role available in their squad for Gelhardt, who is a very talented individual who has simply not had the chance to shine in his best role.

Gelhardt would be best playing off of a target man striker, and not acting as the lone forward himself, and if Leeds can find a way to get him in their XI like that, then he could thrive.

Should this season be another more mediocre one for the forward, then it is likely that he may need to look for pastures new. At Sunderland he did fairly well, but was not able to flourish and play his best by playing off a focal point up front, which is what he now requires to kick on and impress.