Pundit gushes over ‘amazing’ Leeds quartet signed for combined £39.4m as Whites prepare bumper new deal

Leeds United have been hailed for conducting four brilliant pieces of transfer business after a quartet of stars delivered “amazing” performances in their 1-1 draw at Aston Villa on Saturday – and TEAMtalk can reveal that moves to tie one of those stars down to a new deal is already in the works.

The Whites are one of the Premier League’s most in-form sides having lost just two of their last 16 games across all competitions; form which has helped Daniel Farke’s side climb to 15th and create a six-point buffer between themselves and the relegation zone. While they have arguably been unlucky not to have posted more points on the board, Leeds United can certainly be pleased with the major improvements made since switching to a five-man defensive unit at the end of November.

While their improvement will be handed a very thorough examination at home to Manchester City on Saturday evening, Leeds can certainly take heart from their excellent display at Villa Park, which only saw them denied victory after an opportunistic finish by Tammy Abraham just two minutes from time.

Marvelling over that display, pundit Micah Richards has hailed the brilliance of Ethan Ampadu (a £7m signing from Chelsea), goalscorer Anton Stach (£17.4m from Hoffenheim), James Justin (£8m, plus £2m in add-ons from Leicester) and Jayden Bogle (£5m from Sheffield United), who signed for a combined £39.4m and who all played a leading role in Saturday’s draw.

“Can we talk about how good Leeds were by the way?” Richards began on The Rest Is Football podcast. “Ethan Ampadu, oh my word! His energy, his football intelligence, his technique.

“Do you remember him early doors at Chelsea? When he was coming through there, he was a centre-half; now he’s in central midfield dictating play. He’s been amazing, along with Stach, who has been really good this season.

“Bogle has been playing really well and Justin, especially when they adapted to five at the back. But it’s just the way they’re creating chances, defending well and they’re entertaining to watch. Daniel Farke has done a really good job there.”

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Leeds optimism over new Ampadu deal – Sources

Given Ampadu’s hugely consistent form this season, and with his contract at Elland Road due to expire in June 2027, we exclusively revealed recently that the Whites plan to open new deal talks with the player and his agent in a matter of weeks.

Furthermore, with the 25-year-old extremely settled at Elland Road, sources can reveal there is already optimism that a new deal will easily be ironed out and with 59-times capped Wales international in line for a bumper pay-rise owing to his fantastic form.

Given the quality also shown from Stach, the German may soon be another player they could look to hand fresh terms to, with his goal at Villa Park his seventh goal contribution (four scored, three assists) of a very impressive campaign, thus far.

As it stands, however, there are no plans to extend a deal that currently still has three and a half years left to run.

All in all, though, Leeds can soon start thinking towards another season of Premier League football, with Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker both in agreement that the Whites should soon be safe from relegation.

“Six points ahead of West Ham, I think they’ll be alright, don’t you?” Lineker asked, to which Richards and Alan Shearer swiftly agreed.

“You mentioned James Justin, obviously, I watched him a lot when he was a Leicester player. I had a chat with Gareth Southgate a couple of years ago, and Justin had [suffered] two very serious injuries, one of which was not long before the World Cup four years ago.

“He was absolutely brilliant that season, and I said to Gareth that James Justin must have been close and he said ‘Justin would have been in my England squad, but for his injury’. So I’m really pleased to see he’s getting a return to the form I saw a lot at Leicester.”

Latest Leeds news: Buonanaotte future update; summer signing’s Liverpool links

Meanwhile, a top journalist has revealed all on both Leeds’ plans over the future of Farke, whose current deal also expires in 2027, and of their sizeable transfer plans for the summer.

Facundo Buonanotte faces an increasingly difficult task of securing a permanent summer transfer to Leeds after Farke delved into the player’s struggles and having explained why, despite his best efforts to offer him support, he’s “not expecting” the player to “cut the league to pieces”.

While the signing of an attacking midfielder is not thought to be high on the club’s list of summer priorities, one man who could replace Buonanotte in the squad is Czech star Pavel Sulc, whose brilliant form for Lyon has seen him earmarked by the Whites as a potential summer target.

Our exclusive report has revealed all on the competition Leeds face for his signature.

Elsewhere, another astute summer signing has found himself linked with a move to Liverpool, though there is no need to panic just yet for Leeds fans.

In other news, it is not just Ampadu that the Whites will look to tie down, with two other stars in line for new deals and with the club’s three major transfer targets also shared by sources.

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