Firpo off: The 3 Leeds United players set to leave next summer if nothing changes. | OneFootball

Highlights

Leeds United ended the season with disappointment after Daniel Farke's side lost at Wembley in the play-off final to set up another year of second tier football in 2024/25, where plenty of players could be set for a summer departure.

Despite enjoying a fine season and clocking up a points tally which would ordinarily win a club automatic promotion, Leeds will have to plan their next steps for the coming season in the Championship after missing out on promotion to the top-flight, meaning plenty of players will be leaving the club, with many out of contract this summer.

However, there are also a handful of players also entering the final year of their current deal this summer, too. Recruitment calls will be well underway now, and this could be the last chance to cash-in on those players, or sit them down to extend their stay at Elland Road further.

Having just missed out on automatic promotion, there will remain optimism that the club can be strong again next season, with Championship competition perhaps less fierce at the top end of the division when looking at the teams that have gone up and come down.

However, in the meantime, with a big summer ahead for Farke and the Leeds hierarchy, here we have taken a look at the players who will see their contracts expire in 2025.

Junior Firpo

Reports stated earlier in the season that Leeds are not planning to offer Junior Firpo a new contract, according to The Athletic. It has also been reported that the Whites will be willing to listen to offers for Firpo in the summer, regardless of their league status.

Failure to cash-in on the left-back this summer would also mean the club would be at risk of losing him for nothing in the summer of 2025 due to his expiring contract, which sees him earn amongst the top players at Elland Road - unsurprisingly, given that he came from Barcelona.

The 27-year-old has given them food for thought at the back end of the season, though, having made 33 appearances for the Whites, contributing to eight assists, as per Transfermarkt. Not only that, but he has become one of the club's most consistent and reliable performers since the turn of the year.

While he has never been a strong one against one defender, or the strongest in general defensive situations, Firpo has the ability to contribute to the Leeds attack consistently down the left-hand side. He will overlap, and, crucially, hold the width. He is able to do this as he plays on his strong foot, and is the only out-and-out left-footed full-back at the club, which opens up passing angles in build up and crossing opportunities in the final third, where his dynamic with Crysencio Summerville has been particularly impressive.

It was always clear that he had the talent in possession, and if Firpo could avoid the injuries that had so far blighted his Leeds career, then the club had a solution to their left-back problem. There is plenty to be said of some continuity and consistency heading into next season, and that could see the club's stance change on Firpo, and possibly extend his current deal further.

Kristoffer Klaesson

Leeds currently have Illan Meslier as their first-choice goalkeeper despite signing Karl Darlow during the previous summer, but that has meant bad news for Kristoffer Klaesson in terms of his place in the pecking order.

He has just four senior appearances to his name for Leeds, performing magnificently off the bench on debut away to Wolves in March 2022 during an important 3-2 win when replacing the injured Meslier (above). He has been on the bench on a number of occasions this term, while hardly featuring for the U-21 side at all.

Klaesson has been a regular for the development side with van den Heuvel in recent years, but both have struggled for minutes at that level due to the emergence of Harry Christy. Having said that, he turned 23 and is no closer to a regular first-team berth, despite making three appearances around the turn of the year. He ought to be more experienced than he is at that sort of age.

It doesn't look at all likely that his future is in West Yorkshire at this stage. Leeds' goalkeeper has flitted between second and third-choice since his arrival at the club, including this season. His contract with the club runs until 2025, so there is still time for him to go out and prove he’s worth keeping around, but with just a year left, the club and Klaesson need to decide whether severing ties is for the best this summer.

Sonny Perkins

Sonny Perkins completed a temporary exit from Elland Road in the summer, and one with Oxford United that looked like a good move on paper for most parties involved, after they signed the forward on a season-long loan.

Perkins did feature off the bench in the team’s opening day 2-2 draw with Cardiff City, but has not featured in the league since, whilst he was an unused substitute in the League Cup. The young forward was joining Liam Manning’s side in order to gain first-team experience away from Leeds.

The forward joined the Whites in the summer of 2022 from West Ham United, signing a three-year contract, but has played only four first-team games since then. Perkins has impressed at youth level, though, competing in the Premier League 2 for the Leeds U-21 side and helping them gain promotion. He has contributed to 17 goals in 28 appearances for the Leeds youth team and is in need of more senior experience now.

They are blocking his pathway into the first-team at the moment, making it the best thing for them to sell the 20-year-old now, with a failed loan move to Oxford bringing very little success for Perkins or Leeds and the best thing for everyone may be a fresh start whilst they can still bring in a little cash for him.