Phil Hay: Gaetano Berardi likely to leave Leeds once contract expires

Gaetano Berardi is likely to leave Leeds United once his current contract expires in the upcoming summer, according to Phil Hay.

Andrea Radrizzani handed the club icon a new deal after promotion to the Premier League, despite him rupturing his ACL against Derby; an injury he has recently recovered from.

The Athletic journalist has admitted that it would be no surprise to see Berardi move along from Elland Road despite his years of service.

Writing in his latest Athletic Mailbag on Friday morning, Hay shared that Berardi will be one of those on the chopping block with plenty of cover available now.

"And I won’t be surprised if Gaetano Berardi leaves at the end of his latest contract too," he wrote.

"Leeds are very well covered at centre-back."

Time is right.

It was a brilliant token gesture for the Whites to offer Berardi another contract at the club this season, but with our Premier League status secured, there is no place for those.

Berardi is very unlikely to feature at all in the top-flight, no matter of his fitness or our status in the league.

Marcelo Bielsa has finally got all of his defenders available to choose from, with Liam Cooper, Robin Koch, Diego Llorente and Pascal Struijk ahead in the rankings.

The Swiss enforcer is likely to feature for the under-23s to get his minutes in, which will allow him to stay fit before his next move once this deal expires.

We are glad that Berardi's final memory of the club won't be his career-threatening injury, and it will be involved in Premier League matchday squads in this crazy journey.

Thank you for the memories, Berra.

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