Leeds backed to thrive under Farke this season as Whites are hailed for signing star Liverpool should have gone for

Leeds United are being backed to climb up the Premier League table this season under the shrewd management of Daniel Farke and following an impressive summer spending recruitment drive that has seen the Whites sign a player branded an ‘obvious’ target for Liverpool.

The West Yorkshire side finished the 2025/26 season in fine fettle, reaching the FA Cup semi-finals and ultimately finishing in 14th place; a remarkable rise given their struggles over the first half of the season and with speculation suggesting Farke was three games from the sack in late November.

Now, after changing his formation from his trademark 4-2-3-1 to a 3-4-2-1, Leeds have become a thoroughly effective and hard-to-beat unit – and hopes are alive that the club could be set to enjoy a strong campaign this time around.

Indeed, with the club spending around £85m on James Trafford, Tarik Muharemovic and, earlier this week, Nico Elvedi, there is a strong feeling Leeds have spent very wisely.

“They’ve recruited really well. They showed in their pre-season games that they can create and score goals, but I don’t want to read too much into pre-season just yet, with the real business set to start this weekend,” Sharpe told TEAMtalk in association with NetBet football betting.

“I think Daniel Farke did a great job last year by turning it round after some called for him to be sacked before Christmas. He got them performing really well and pretty much saved Leeds.

“He’s a very experienced manager, and he knows what he wants and what he needs.

“He strengthened the squad really well. But ahead of the season you might think the three that come up are the most likely to go back down; they’ll definitely fancy their chances of staying up this season, and their aspirations should be to finish a little bit higher up the table…”

READ MORE: Next three transfer targets for Leeds named as Whites complete quickfire triple deal

Liverpool told they should have signed Leeds new boy

However, it’s also the addition of Harry Wilson – on a free transfer from Fulham – that has former Whites star Lee Sharpe most excited, having explained why the Welshman should have been a shoo-in to join Liverpool as a no-brainer replacement for Mohamed Salah.

Asked who else they should sign, Sharpe continued:  “I’m not sure who else they are in the market for, but Harry Wilson is an unbelievable signing for them.

“He brings energy, experience, and he knows how to get a goal, and he’s just as good at breaking up the opposition’s attack and turning them into offensive opportunities.

“I am surprised one of the top six or top eight teams didn’t go for him because he’s a superb player.

“He proved himself at Fulham for a couple of seasons and can score goals, so I think Leeds have pulled off an outstanding move to get him.

“He actually could have been the perfect replacement for Salah at Liverpool, without a doubt.”

As revealed earlier this week, Leeds want to finish the window by making three more signings to add to their squad, with a new striker, a back-up goalkeeper and cover and competition at left-back now the focus.

One man we can reveal Leeds have looked at is Liam Delap, though their interest is not as advanced as some of their Premier League rivals and a new update on Friday has revealed which club, and for how much, Delap is expected to move.