Leeds United could be facing double regret as Burnley and Luton circle player: View | OneFootball

Leeds United now know exactly what they must do if they are to win an immediate promotion back to the Premier League this season.

After a third place finish in the regular season, the Elland Road club have secured their place in the Championship play-off final.

That came with a thumping win over Norwich City in the second leg of their semi-final on Thursday.

The following evening, it was confirmed they will be facing another club who came down with them last season in that final, after Southampton overcame West Brom to book their place at Wembley.

With the teams now locked in, both sides will be well aware of what it at stake when they face off on Sunday 26th May.

Beyond the main aim of a return to the Premier League, success or failure will have a big say on the futures of a number of individuals at those clubs.

However, there are some players who will no doubt be moving on regardless of whether promotion is secured. In Leeds' case, one player who is likely to fall into that category, is Ian Poveda.

Elland Road exit looks likely for Ian Poveda

Having joined Leeds from Manchester City back in January 2020, Poveda has never really established himself at Elland Road.

The winger has rarely made more than a handful of appearances in a single campaign for the Whites.

He has also had several loan spells elsewhere since making that move, the most recent of which saw him spend the second half of last season out on loan with Sheffield Wednesday.

As a result, with Poveda's contract with Leeds due to expire this summer, it is hard to imagine he will have done enough to have secured a new deal at Elland Road.

That though, could yet represent something of a risk for the Whites, if they are unable to beat Southampton to secure a return to the top-flight.

Ian Poveda attracting attention from possible Leeds United rivals

With it looking as though he will indeed be departing Elland Road for good in the summer, Poveda is already emerging as the subject of interest from elsewhere.

According to reports, two of the clubs who are showing an interest in the Colombian international, are Luton Town and Burnley.

Both of those sides are set for relegation from the Premier League back to the Championship this season, after just a single campaign in the top-flight.

They will however, both be eyeing swift promotions back to the Premier League in the 2024/25 campaign.

Similarly, if Leeds lose to Southampton in this season's play-off final, they will be expected to again push for promotion next time round.

But with Poveda looking set to leave Elland Road amid that interest from the likes of Luton and Burnley, there is a chance Leeds would be strengthening a direct promotion rivals for next season if they do not go up.

If Poveda is indeed able to help one of those clubs to promotion at the expense of the Elland Road club, the decision to let him go will have come back to haunt them, and could leave them facing questions about the decision they made in doing so.

It is also worth noting that with there being a considerable amount of interest in the winger, the fact he is out of contract and set to leave on a free transfer, could see Leeds miss out in other ways too.

If Poveda still had a contract at Elland Road, allowing Leeds to demand a fee for him, they could have engineered something of a bidding war courtesy of this interest.

That in turn, could have brought some useful funds into the club, which could then have been further reinvested in strengthening the squad and boosting their own prospects for next season.

But with that too not going to happen, it means that Leeds are going to miss out in that respect, and if they do not go up this season, those links elsewhere mean this could risk costing them in an even bigger way further down the line.

As a result, it seems as though the situation surrounding Poveda, ought to give Leeds United a tiny extra bit of an incentive when they walk out onto that Wembley pitch for the play-off final, to ensure this is not something that could backfire them to a major extent.