Leeds United's dream £119m Premier League XI for next season - if rumours prove true

The good times are back at Elland Road. Daniel Farke has successfully led Leeds United into the Premier League, and owners 49ers Enterprises get to enjoy a promotion barely five minutes after buying the club. What that means now, of course, is a summer of upheaval.

Rumours are already circulating which suggest that the owners have decided to dispense with Farke’s services despite the manager achieving automatic promotion – and if that proves true, it signals that change is coming and that the owners will not be content to roll into the Premier League with the same squad, system and broader set-up as the one which worked in the second tier.

We don’t know yet whether Leeds’ owners will look to splash the cash in extravagant fashion or attack the transfer window in a more restrained and focused fashion, but the team sheet will look rather different come August. But who, specifically, will be on it? We’ve delved into some of the more plausible and persistent transfer rumours to look at what Leeds’ starting XI might look like next season…

Goalkeeper & Defence

GK: Sam Johnstone (£10m*); LB: Dennis Cirkin (£15m*); RB: Jaden Bogle (£5m); CB: Pascal Struijk (nominal), CB: Joe Rodon (£10m)

Let’s start from the number one jersey – it’s fair to say that Illan Meslier has not earned universally positive reviews from the fans after an error-strewn season, and it’s extremely likely that Leeds move to sign a new goalkeeper this summer. The Yorkshire Post are among a number of outlets reporting interest in Wolves and England goalkeeper Sam Johnstone, who has wound up as the number two at Molineux. £10m is a likely asking price.

We also suspect a change in left-back is a likely necessity. Junior Firpo’s contract is running down and reports hint that he could move back to former club Real Betis. The chance of a second bite at the Premier League cherry might persuade him to stay, but there’s a high chance that a replacement needs to be found.

Leeds are among several teams said to be looking at Sunderland’s Dennis Cirkin, and if the Black Cats don’t make it up via the play-offs then he becomes a very likely target. £15m is perhaps the base price, but the interest certainly exists. We wouldn’t be shocked to see a new centre-back come in, either, but if Pascal Struijk stays then they could stick with their current first-choice pairing and bring in some depth rather than a new starter. If Leeds spend big, however, this is definitely another position of interest.

Midfield

DM: Ethan Ampadu (£7m), Ao Tanaka (£3m); AM: Emiliano Buendia (£15m)

Leeds were one of several sides allegedly interested in Aston Villa’s Argentine number ten Emiliano Buendia in January but the attacking midfielder ended up making a surprising loan move to Bayer Leverkusen, who have the option to buy him for £17m. That doesn’t look especially likely to happen, however.

Buendia has only started one league game for the reigning German champions and hasn’t muscled his way into regular first-team consideration. That suggests that that purchase option will not be utilised, and Buendia may be back on the market – and there’s plenty of room to be good enough for a newly-promoted side and not good enough for the Bundesliga’s best at the same time.

That clause also gives us a ballpark transfer fee, but other players will be under consideration. There are also links to Krasnodar’s Eduard Spertsyan and Manchester City’s James McAtee but the list of interested parties is long and includes teams in better positions to strike a deal than Leeds. Buendia, therefore is perhaps a more likely candidate to move to Elland Road despite his loan deal.

Forwards

LW: Manor Solomon (£10m); RW: Wilfried Gnonto (£4m); CF: Evan Ferguson (£40m)

Israel international Solomon has been among Leeds’ best performers this season, and given that he’s a peripheral figure at Spurs we think that a deal should be pretty straightforward to make - £10-15m is the figure generally quoted in gossip columns.

He’ll likely rotate with Willy Gnonto and Dan James on the wings, perhaps with another high-end player coming in at that position if the budget permits. It’s at centre-forward that we expect to see the biggest splash, however.

Brighton seem uncertain about whether they want to keep Evan Ferguson long-term, his loan spell at West Ham hasn’t really panned out, and the door is open for another team to take a shot on his long-term potential and natural goal-scoring qualities. Leeds have been tipped by several outlets to be that very team.

It would probably take at least £40m to prise the Irishman away from his current club but it’s the kind of statement signing with a high long-term ceiling that we can imagine Leeds making. Plenty of other strikers will be in consideration, of course, but we’re not sure any other team either wants or needs a player like Ferguson as much as Leeds do. We could see this being the big splash of the summer.