Daniel Farke led Leeds United to survival and another year in the Premier League last season and that remains the ultimate goal throughout 2026/27.
After winning just three of their opening 13 matches, Leeds then suffered just five defeats across their next 25 to secure survival with weeks to spare. This should give Farke and his men confidence that they can avoid the drop once again, and possibly do better than their 14th place finish from 2025/26.
Leeds must avoid another slow start
The old saying goes: “it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish”, but Leeds did struggle between August and the end of November last term.
Indeed, Farke’s side lost eight of their first 13 matches, including four in a row leading into December. In total, 13 goals were scored by Leeds during that period and there is no doubt that relegation was on the cards.Â
Then a stunning 3-1 triumph over Chelsea in early December changed the trajectory of their season. It’s critical to have a result like happen earlier this time around..
Games against Nottingham Forest, Brentford, Brighton and Newcastle offer the chance of making a positive start to the campaign. Fail to win any of those four matches, however, and confidence might take a significant hit.
Quality over quantity in the transfer market
At the time of writing, Leeds have made just three summer signings. Goalkeeper James Trafford, who showed fine mettle in the Bronze Medal match of the World Cup, joins from Manchester City for a fee in the region of $54m, while Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemović arrives in a $43m deal from Sassuolo.
Perhaps the best signing, however, is that of Harry Wilson. The Welshman joins on a free transfer following the expiration of his Fulham contract and given his track record in the division, he will add plenty of quality in the final third.
In previous summers, Leeds have signed plenty of players, yet it appears as though Farke is prioritizing quality over quantity this summer.
Seven players have departed the club during the transfer window thus far, raising nearly $38m in sales.
There is still plenty of time for Farke to add another player or two to his squad, though.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin remains key man in attack
Calvert-Lewin joined Leeds United last summer after ten seasons with Everton with his career slowly ebbing away from him. Fast forward nine months later and he finished the campaign with 14 Premier League goals with a potential recall to the England setup also being mentioned.
The latter didn’t materialize, but that doesn’t matter. Returning to the form that saw him reach double digits for top flight goals in 2019/20 and 2020/21 was more than enough to satisfy the forward.
It wasn’t just the amount of goals that he scored that was impressive, but who he scored against. The 29-year-old netted against Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool in the space of eight days, also adding goals against Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur before the end of the campaign.
Calvert-Lewin ranked in the top 10% when compared to his peers for touches in the opposition penalty box, aerial duels won and fouls won in the Premier League last season.
If he gets close to this sort of form throughout the current campaign, Leeds should be well clear of any danger.
Breakthrough star: Alfie Cresswell
The 19-year-old midfielder has yet to make his senior debut for Leeds, but he was included on the bench in the last two league games of 2025/26.
Captain of the U21 side, Cresswell joined the senior squad on their pre-season tour of the United States during the summer, featuring against Wrexham and Sunderland.
With Leeds making just three signings so far, Creswell could have a part to play this term. Keep an eye out for him.
What constitutes a good season?
Perhaps expectations have changed slightly at Elland Road given the excellent finish to the 2025/26 campaign, but survival is surely the number one priority.
Farke has delivered a statement of intent with the signings of Wilson and Trafford this summer and by avoiding relegation, they will make three consecutive seasons in the top flight for just the second time since 2004.
The mood is far different from this time last year. With that in mind, matching the 14th place finish is surely not out of the question.Â
