As each season passes, Leeds fans look at the list of loanees, short-term contract players and those on longer deals and discuss who should be retained.
Phil Hay from the Yorkshire Evening Post has tweeted an up-to-date list of Leeds United’s squad in terms of the length of contract held by each player. Some discussions are quite straightforward, but others depend on whether Neil Redfearn will be head coach next season, and how loyal Massimo Cellino is to players he brought in.
Looking at each group in turn, who do you think will be retained?
Loanees
From this first group, it seems unlikely that Adryan will return to Elland Road having not featured in the second half of the season, and reports in the Yorkshire Evening Post suggest that Cellino has no intention of paying the £3million fee agreed with Brazilian club Flamengo as part of his loan fee. Other players such as Dario Del Fabro, Brian Montenegro and Zan Benedicic have featured very rarely in the first team but as young players may be seen as having potential for the future. However, whether they would want to return to Leeds United is another matter.
Edgar Cani and Granddi Ngoyi were brought in as loans in January, but these deals didn’t really work out. Redfearn didn’t appear to rate Cani, a 25-year-old Albanian striker, while midfielder Ngoyi was injured and played in just one game – at home to Norwich – although Redfearn did speak favourably of him. The definite success was centre-half Sol Bamba who was captured on a half-season loan from Palermo. Bamba helped transform Leeds’ season and would be a must-buy player. He has expressed a strong desire to sign permanently, although his comments at the weekend defending Neil Redfearn may have burned his bridges with the Leeds hierarchy.
Out of contract 2015
From this group the obvious retainees would be academy graduates Kalvin Phillips and Lewis Walters. Both have featured in the Development Squad under Neil Redfearn and although Walters is yet to make a first team appearance due to injury, it is clear that Redfearn rates both highly. After that, Rodolph Austin has his assets in the Championship but may not fit into the bracket of player that Cellino would reward with a new contract – as he is 29-years-old – although a year’s extension may be forthcoming if Redfearn has any say on proceedings.
Aidy White has again been praised by Redfearn after a brief sub appearance in Saturday’s game versus Rotherham, but his future is very much dependent on Redfearn’s and many fans doubt he will ever become a Championship standard player. After that, few names suggest they have done enough to earn a new deal.
Out of contract 2016
Two names immediately leap out from this group, with Lewis Cook and Sam Byram having another season on their contracts, but Leeds fans will desperately want them to be rewarded with a suitable extension as soon as possible. After that it is hard to anticipate much movement, unless top scorer Mirco Antenucci feels his Leeds United career is over after the ‘injured six’ episode, in which he played a part, and the debate over his contract extension at the club had he scored two more goals.
Swiss full-back Gaetano Berardi is arguably Cellino’s most successful signing from last summer and has established himself as a genuine squad member and will definitely have a longer term role, but Billy Sharp may seek a move if the much-travelled striker is unhappy with his game opportunities in this past season.
Out of contract 2017
Leeds fans will be glad to see that Alex Mowatt, Charlie Taylor and – to a lesser extent – Liam Cooper are in this bracket. While Mowatt and Taylor have two seasons left, Cellino will be under pressure to extend that period while also rewarding them with terms appropriate to their progress this season and to compare with their teammates. Elsewhere, Caspar Sloth and Souleymane Doukara may feel unhappy with life at Leeds United and could seek a move elsewhere, particularly with Doukara’s involvement in the ‘injured six’ saga and his general body language since the turn of the year, when he has been largely on the sidelines.
Nicky Ajose will return from a very successful loan period at Crewe, but the jury is out over whether he is a genuine Championship player. Redfearn may feel he has something to prove, however, Cellino would surely be happy to accept a permanent transfer away or a season-loan?
Out of contract 2018
With three full seasons left on their contracts are Cellino’s three Italian signings from last summer, goalkeeper Marco Silvestri, centre half Giuseppe Bellusci and injured midfielder Tommaso Bianchi. Doubts exist over all three having a long term future at Leeds United, unless Cellino chooses to dig in and somehow smooth the waters to allow them a credible chance to wear the Leeds shirt again. Mystery still surrounds the injuries sustained by Silvestri and Bellusci and their relationship with Neil Redfearn, and certainly at this moment, few Leeds fans are in a hurry to see them play for Leeds again.
Bianchi has been injured since January but was an ever-present up to that point – albeit in the diamond formation that Redfearn promptly dumped. A fit Bianchi has some use to Leeds, but whether he would want to stay if Silvestri and Bellusci left is open to question. All that said, shifting players with three years left on their contracts is easier said than done, and much of this potential movement is dependent on Cellino’s loyalties to his players and how much time and money he wants to invest in resolving the obvious issues that exist.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
