Leeds United Secure Premier League Return After Two-Year Absence

Leeds United have officially secured their promotion back to the English Premier League after a two-year stint in the Championship.   

The Whites’ return to the top flight was confirmed with two games to spare in the Championship season after Sheffield United suffered a defeat to second-placed Burnley on Monday. This result simultaneously confirmed Burnley’s own promotion to the Premier League.

Earlier on Monday, Daniel Farke’s Leeds side had emphatically defeated Stoke City 6-0 in their own fixture, making their promotion a near certainty. They now stand in a strong position to win the Championship title, needing victories in their final two matches against Bristol City and Plymouth Argyle, unless Burnley achieve an improbable swing in goal difference. 

This promotion marks a significant turnaround for Leeds, who finished third in the 2023-24 Championship season with 90 points before experiencing play-off final heartbreak with a loss to Southampton at Wembley.

The summer transfer window saw the departure of highly-rated academy graduate Archie Gray to Tottenham and Championship player of the season Crysencio Summerville to West Ham. While these exits were anticipated, the sale of talented forward Georginio Rutter to Brighton after the season had commenced came as an unexpected blow.

Despite these departures, Leeds maintained a strong squad for the Championship level. Key permanent additions included Spurs defender Joe Rodon (following a successful loan spell), former Sheffield United full-back Jayden Bogle, and Japanese international midfielder Ao Tanaka. Loan signings Joe Rothwell and Manor Solomon from Bournemouth and Tottenham respectively also added valuable quality to the team.

On the pitch, Leeds endured a slow start to the campaign, failing to win any of their first three matches in all competitions. However, a 2-0 victory away at Sheffield Wednesday sparked a remarkable turnaround, and they rarely looked back.

Despite a narrow home defeat to fellow promotion contenders Burnley on September 14th (their only loss at Elland Road this season to date), Leeds had climbed to second place by the third international break in November.

Following a 1-0 home defeat to Blackburn at the end of November, Leeds embarked on an impressive three-month unbeaten run in the league. This period included a dominant 7-0 thrashing of Cardiff and dramatic comeback victories against top-four rivals Sunderland and Sheffield United on consecutive Mondays in February.

The victory over Sheffield United propelled Leeds to a five-point lead at the top of the table. With a seemingly favorable run of fixtures leading to the end of the season, promotion appeared increasingly likely.

However, March brought a slight dip in form, with just one win in five matches. A 2-2 draw with Swansea saw manager Farke replace goalkeeper Illan Meslier with Karl Darlow after costly errors from the Frenchman in previous draws against Sunderland and Hull City.