Kieron Dyer makes Leeds United ‘juggernaut’ admission in promotion prediction live on talkSPORT
Kieron Dyer has admitted that Leeds United are one of the “juggernauts” of the Championship when discussing the race for automatic promotion to the Premier League.
Daniel Farke’s side currently sit third in the table, seven points off Ipswich Town in second and eight points adrift of league leaders Leicester City. But the Whites have not lost any of their last six matches and are well and truly in the race for automatic promotion.
While the gap to the top remains fairly big, Dyer still believes that Leeds are one of the favourites to finish within the top two places alongside Leicester and Southampton as they still have Premier League players within their playing squad.
Speaking on talkSPORT (5 December, 12:50) he said: “I think they’re (Ipswich) guaranteed the playoffs. I still think that Leeds, Leicester and Southampton are the juggernauts of the league.
“I do think they’ve got Premier League players still. If I look at the Ipswich squad, I’d say Leif Davis is probably a Premier League player and the rest are top Championship players.”
Hitting their stride
A seven-point gap does feel quite a challenge for Leeds United to face this early in the campaign but with 27 games still to play this season and 81 points to play for, the Whites are more than capable of bridging that gap between now and May.
The Whites have shown that they are incredibly tough to face under Farke’s management, especially at Elland Road where they remain unbeaten in the league this season and if they maintain that form they have an excellent chance of returning to the Premier League.
Dyer is right in his assessment that Leeds do have a number of Premier League quality players in their squad. The likes of Crysencio Summerville, Dan James and Joe Rodon have all performed at a level this season that wouldn’t have been out of place in England’s top tier of football.
However, that means they will more than likely face interest from Premier League clubs when the January transfer window opens and will have to battle to keep their best players. What happens during that transfer window could prove to be defining in the race for automatic promotion.
In other Leeds United news, Farke has revealed what he told the Leeds players in his first team meeting at Elland Road