Farke’s Leeds future mapped out as 49ers make huge decision over manager

Leeds United are ready to sit down and discuss a new deal with Daniel Farke after he steered the club to Premier League safety, and with 49ers Enterprises aiming to match the German’s ambitions to take the club to the next level.

Farke has done an exceptional job in his three seasons at the Elland Road helm, steering them to a 100-point tally in his second year in the job as Leeds won the Championship title, and Premier League survival during the current campaign.

If Leeds can beat West Ham on the final day of the season at the London Stadium – a result that would send the hapless Hammers tumbling down to the Championship – Farke and his side will be celebrating a 50-point tally; some achievement for a team, who until just last weekend had not yet confirmed their place in the top flight for another year.

However, Leeds have gotten better as the season has gone on, and an eight-game unbeaten streak – now the longest unbeaten run by a newly-promoted Premier League side since Birmingham (12 games) in the 2009/10 campaign – has underlined just how tough a team the Whites are to beat.

Incredibly, all this has come in a season which has seen Farke’s future at Leeds called under the spotlight on more than one occasion.

While there was a fleeting wobble by the board back in the autumn after Leeds lost four successive games to slip on the cusp of the relegation zone, the messages that sources were saying were that Farke – on a contract until June 2027 – would be given the chance to earn an extension with the Whites this season.

Effectively, if he could keep Leeds up, then a new deal would be on the table – and that was the message put out last month in this report.

Ultimately, the board did not want any distractions from getting in the way of the task at hand: Premier League survival. They also felt that by holding off on new deal talks, they would keep the 49-year-old sharp, hungry and focused, helping to maximise their chances of staying among the elite.

Now their status has been secured, the club appear ready to sit down and iron out improved terms and an extension for the boss, with sources revealing they have long since been planning for their future with him leading the side.

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What has Farke said on his Leeds United future?

Farke, himself, has given nothing away on his future, though he did challenge the Whites board last week to match his ambitions in helping steer the club into the upper echelons of the Premier League.

Admitting there is “no doubt in my head” that he wants to stay on as Leeds manager, but in throwing down the gauntlet to the board, the German said last week: “I’m ambitious, and this is quite important for me going forward.

“I love attractive football, perhaps for sides in the top half of the table, but I love to be a manager who plays for something rather than to avoid something.

“I’m not the right choice if it’s about maintaining the status quo. I have to be convinced of a project, and I am at my best when I buy into a project. I can be picky and choose what I am convinced of.”

He added: “You have to develop and you have to evolve. This is what I stand for, so it’s important that we speak internally together and very trustfully together.

“There is no doubt in my head, but it’s important that we don’t just write the story ongoing. I’m full of belief and energy, but we have to speak realistically about what the goals are and what the next steps are, and to have a vision.”

Put in layman’s terms, Farke wants the Leeds board to show ambition and back him with some quality new signings to help take the club to the next level.

Speaking again on his future and asked if he enjoyed supporters chanting his name, a typical modest Farke said after the 1-0 win over Brighton at Elland Road: “Not so much that, but seeing everyone chanting with joy.

“This fan base is the best in football. It’s the most important asset. Second to none in world football. I’m so pleased to give joy and pride back.

“Long may it continue.”

Addressing supporters on the pitch to thank them for their support following the win, Farke stated: “Thanks for your support, it is second to none. We have the best fans in the country, right now we are working to get one of the best teams in the country.”

While Leeds hope to add four to five key additions this summer, including a new centre forward to challenge Sunday’s matchwinner, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, the urgent priority for the Whites will be a new deal for a man considered by Farke as his side’s most important player.

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