Credit: Tung Manh Phan

James Barker

Thu 30 April 2026 16:40, UK

Leeds United should have a much more concrete starting XI next season, which is something they’ve not had in the Premier League this term.

That first season back in the Premier League always brings about a host of challenges for newly-promoted sides, and that’s been no different for Leeds in 2025-26.

Daniel Farke has done a wonderful job to have the Whites’ status as a top flight outfit all but confirmed for 2026-27, but it’s not been smooth sailing all the way.

Leeds went through the entirety of October and November with just one league win, they’ve suffered injuries to important players and had to manage workloads as a result.

However, next season should look different in this regard, and with just four games to play, Leeds chiefs will already have a pretty clear picture of what the team will look like next term.

Where Leeds rank in Premier League minutes distribution table

Farke has surely secured his future as Leeds manager after his team have hit the magic 40 points tally with four games to spare, and even reached an FA Cup semi-final in their first season back in the Premier League.

A shrewd summer of transfer business has brought numerous quality and long-term starters to Elland Road, and there aren’t many obvious holes in this squad at the moment.

Part of the transition from second-tier to top-flight football commonly comes with managers going through the depth of their playing squad, in order to try and find as many contributors as possible.

Teams at the top of the division largely know what their best starting XI is, and thus don’t need to go fishing through their depth chart or routinely make numerous changes to the team.

However, that’s not often the case with newly-promoted sides, as proven by a table from The Athletic that shows the change in the distribution of minutes to players in the Premier League this season compared to last.

As shared by The Athletic’s Aston Villa writer Jacob Tanswell via X, Leeds have the third-highest percentage change of any Premier League team this season with 55.3 per cent more minutes distributed across the playing squad compared to 2024-25.

Sunderland are top with 75.1 per cent, whilst Burnley are in fourth with 55.1 per cent respectively, ensuring all three newly-promoted teams are in the top four in this area.

Again, that goes back to those three teams knowing what their strongest side was in the Championship last season, and thus only really rotated when injuries/suspensions occurred.

Leeds can flip spot in distribution of minutes table next season

Looking at this Leeds team now with four games to play, Farke has got a pretty clear picture of what his best starting lineup is, and where he may need upgrades this summer.

Leeds should retain Karl Darlow as their number one goalkeeper, whilst Pascal Struijk, Jaka Bijol, Joe Rodon and James Justin have all been excellent in central defence this season.

Gabriel Gudmundsson is the future at left-back/wing-back, likewise for Ethan Ampadu and Anton Stach in central midfield, whilst Jayden Bogle has probably done enough to keep his starting role on the right too.

Noah Okafor is only getting better and can be a talismanic player in attacking midfield moving forward, Brenden Aaronson has had a solid season, whilst Dominic Calvert-Lewin can lead the line for years to come.

So, we’re surely looking at a summer transfer window ahead that will see Leeds prioritise quality over quantity, as many players in this team can help take the Club up the table from next season onwards.

What that should also mean is Leeds can have a much more settled starting XI in 2026-27, now that they know who they can rely on.