Leeds United might have suffered double transfer blow at Euro 2024

Highlights

• Leeds United must resolve the futures of loaned players like Wöber and Kristensen quickly to focus on new signings.
• Some loan players may return to the team, but others like Koch and Sinisterra have already left or will soon.
• Despite losing key players, Leeds can still profit from players like Summerville and Gnonto to rebuild in the next season.

Leeds United have to resolve the futures of a number of returning loanees this summer, including Austrian defender Max Wöber and Danish defender Rasmus Kristensen.

There are players who won’t want to stick around after leaving the club due to loan clauses in their contract over the summer, who will need to have their future at Elland Road resolved as quickly as possible, in order for the club to then focus on incomings for Daniel Farke.

Some of those aforementioned loan players may return to the first-team fold in some capacity, with nothing ever certain in football, but many of them should be set for an exit. Two departures have already been confirmed, with Robin Koch agreeing a pre-contract deal with his current loan club in Eintracht Frankfurt.

The other is that Luis Sinisterra penned a permanent deal with AFC Bournemouth in February ahead of the summer. However, there will be others joining them in due course heading into June and beyond. Especially with Mike McGrath of The Telegraph reporting that a a number of the players with loan clauses in 2023 are expected to be among those to depart Leeds, having performed well enough to secure a permanent switch from Elland Road in the summer.

There are no guarantees as to how strong you will be when you’re set to lose some of your key players after missing out on promotion, but the assets for Leeds should mean they can rebuild next year. Not only are the likes of Crysencio Summerville, Willy Gnonto, and Archie Gray potentially players they can make plenty of profit on, but the loaned out players being sold will only improve Leeds’ transfer kitty as well.

Leeds’ EURO 2024 representation

Technically speaking, Leeds have three players at EURO 2024 in Germany. One is club captain Liam Cooper, whilst Kristensen and Wöber are representing their nations at the finals as well.

Cooper, much like with Leeds this season, has been more of a periphery figure for Scotland for some time now, and was an unused substitute against the hosts during the opening game of the tournament.

However, Kristensen was also an unused substitute for Denmark, which will come as a disappointment for Leeds fans, as an international tournament of this magnitude provides a chance for the full-back to impress and build upon a solid enough campaign in Italy with AS Roma.

Leeds paid a reported £10 million to sign the former Red Bull Salzburg full-back, but he left in a loan move to the Italian giants, linking up with Diego Llorente in the process. The Whites will almost certainly take whatever they can get for Kristensen during the summer, as he has been a largely forgettable signing, but the European Championships provided an opportunity to up his market value somewhat, and that is not currently transpiring.

The Danish defender featured 31 times in all competitions for the Serie A side so far this term, including 21 starts, as Daniele De Rossi’s team aimed to qualify for the Champions League. Kristensen may have been a regular presence in the team this year, but the Italian side may look to other options at right-back, as the deal had no option to buy.

In even worse news, Wöber has got off to an even worse start. The 26-year-old still has three years left to run on his deal at Elland Road, but the Whites would have been hoping he could impress as a key man under Ralf Rangnick during this summer’s tournament.

Wöber started for Austria in their opener, with the tough task of trying to shut out France. It’s easier said than done trying to contain one of the favourites for the tournament, given the talent that Didier Deschamps has at his disposal in attack.

It got off to the worst possible start when Ousmane Dembélé beat one man then nutmegged Wöber, who lunged in and got a yellow card very early on. Having to then defend for the rest of the game against Kylian Mbappé leading the line as captain was always likely to be an uphill task from there.

Not long after, his display went from bad to worse, when the breakthrough moment came in the 38th minute, as France picked up a loose ball on the right channel, before bursting past the defender to send a cross into the six-yard box.

On the end of the cross was Wöber, but his bizarre header went into the bottom corner of his own goal. In the second half, Mbappé then showed astonishing pace to race past Wöber but, with the goal at his mercy, he held his head in disbelief after shooting wide.

Therefore, the own goal proved to be the decisive goal as France held onto a 1-0 win, while Wöber was hooked around the hour mark after a dreadful showing.

Leeds’ problem this summer

Of course, Wöber and Kristensen had solid enough seasons that they should have suitors, but international tournaments are notorious for raising the profiles of players.

Leeds can be hopeful of a positive 2024/25 campaign, and a summer with greater stability, with Farke having come in during a chaotic period for the club last term, but maximising fees for unwanted players will help to retain key players that took Leeds so close in May.

They may have another couple of years of parachute payments, but every penny matters as they feel PSR’s financial squeeze. Wöber, in particular, is a player that the Whites could bank serious leeway in terms of the books, after a strong season in the Bundesliga.

The Austrian defender only joined the Whites in January 2023 for a fee of around £10 million from RB Salzburg, and whilst he couldn’t help keep the West Yorkshire outfit in the Premier League, he was one of few to emerge with any credit after generally impressing during his 19 appearances in all competitions, at either left-back or centre-back.

Building on that in 2023/24 and then with a strong showing for an Austria side fancied as dark horses, would certainly have made matters easier for Leeds, but Mbappé and co. may have caused the precise opposite to take effect.