Daniel Farke sack talk brewing ahead of Leeds trip to Luton amid ‘100% certain’ claim

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has been warned he will ‘not get a third bite of the cherry’ if the Whites fail to secure promotion this season, with three observers all debating just how long the German will remain in charge at Elland Road as the promotion race reaches a critical junction.

The Whites are once again embroiled in a three-horse race to the promotion finishing line. Just a year after finishing on 90 points and having to settle for third, behind champions Leicester and Ipswich, before then suffering play-off final heartache, Leeds find themselves in all-too-familiar territory, this time in a race for the promised land alongside Burnley and Sheffield United.

With the season now in its final stretch, Farke and Co. will know soon enough if it’s a case of second-time lucky or if the unwelcome feeling of Leeds ‘falling apart again’ will see them slip into the lottery of the play-offs.

While Leeds have only lost once in their last 21 Championship games, Saturday’s disappointing 2-2 draw at home to Swansea means it is now just one win in five heading into Saturday lunchtime’s clash at Luton.

However, in the wake of that disappointing draw against the Swans, Farke bullishly declared he was “100% certain” that Leeds would be a Premier League club next season.

Weighing up that statement and assessing if he will still be at the helm next year in the wake of another near-miss, his future – and the prospect of him being sacked – was debated on the BBC’s ‘Don’t go to bed just yet’ podcast.

“Should we talk about about Daniel Farke’s post-match comments?” host Jonny Buchan began. “He 100 percent believes that Leeds will be in the Premier League next season.

“That’s as unequivocal as he’s probably ever been saying a statement like that. Why did he say that do you think? Is there more behind it than him just being asked a question and giving his honest opinion?”

Former TEAMtalk journalist Adam Pope, now BBC Radio Leeds‘ chief football reporter, commented: “It felt uncharacteristic, and maybe it is to deflect or just to give his players the ultimate compliment in a way, after a difficult afternoon, to say ‘I totally believe in you’.”

READ MORE ⚪🔵🟡 Leeds told first three players they will lose if they suffer more promotion misery

Leeds run-in analysed as Farke fights to avoid the sack

However, the last word went to Kaiser Chiefs musician Simon Rix, who feels Farke has nothing to lose by making such a statement, feeling he will lose his job anyway if Leeds fail to win promotion.

“I don’t think he’s got anything to lose at this point, has he, because whatever happens – if we go up, fine, he’s right. If we don’t, he’s not at Leeds United so it doesn’t matter what he said. He’s definitely not going to get a third bite of the cherry], so he’s got nothing to lose, has he, I guess!”

Farke will be hoping Leeds are good to his word and nothing less than a win at Kenilworth Road on Saturday will appease those who are starting to question the Whites’ ability to hold their nerve.

After Saturday’s clash at Luton, Leeds are back on the road on Tuesday night away at play-off hopefuls Middlesbrough. Then follows another home game, this time against Preston, also a lunchtime kick-off.

The Whites then travel to Oxford on Good Friday, before tackling Stoke at home on Easter Monday.

And their domestic campaign rounds off with matches against Bristol City (H) on April 26 and Plymouth (A) on May 3.

Of the three sides all gunning for promotion, it’s felt Leeds have, on paper at least, the easiest of the three sets of fixtures, with Middlesbrough and Bristol City representing their last encounters against sides in the top half.

There is also the small matter of Burnley’s home clash with Sheffield United on 21 April, with at least one of the sides guaranteed to drop points that day – another factor which could play into Leeds’ hands.

Leeds transfer latest: Whites target Chelsea keeper; Aaronson to be dumped?

Meanwhile, TEAMtalk contributor Ben Jacobs has exclusively revealed the Whites have added Chelsea goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic to their list of summer targets. The 25-year-old is currently on loan with Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg.

Right now, Chelsea aren’t engaging with suitors because Petrovic, who has been excellent for Strasbourg, is in a four-way battle to become number one at Stamford Bridge, along with Robert Sanchez, Filip Jorgensen and the incoming Mike Penders.

The Serbian, though, is just one of three big-name options Leeds are tracking with two other Prem stars now certain to be on the move this summer.

Elsewhere, we can also reveal that Leeds’ summer transfer plans could have major ramifications for Brenden Aaronson, who faces an uncertain future at Elland Road and with a number of options being tracked as replacements, per TEAMtalk sources.

IN-FOCUS: How Leeds rank in the Championship so far this season