2 Leeds United players who are surely eyeing a 2025 Elland Road escape route | OneFootball

FLW outline the two likeliest Leeds United players who will be considering their future at Elland Road.

Leeds United made eight new additions to their squad in the summer, with the Whites looking to go one better than last season under Daniel Farke and gain promotion back to the Premier League.

Despite that, and having a fairly streamlined squad of 23 first-team players, there are still a few fringe players who are unlikely to be a consistent part of Farke's plans over the course of the next few months, unless an injury crisis strikes Leeds.

There are those players who require a vital development loan, in order to gain first-team experience. Then there remain players too far down the pecking order wanting to go and play senior football or win game time elsewhere if they are struggling to get into Farke's plans consistently.

The objective, as always, for Leeds this season is to gain promotion to the Premier League, and there will be real disappointment if the club fail to do so this time around. However, not every player can play their part if they are seen as back up or depth in some areas.

Here, we take a look at two of the most likely players to be seeking an exit come the January transfer window, be that on loan or permanently to find a new home and regular game time.

Joe Gelhardt

The Whites were quick to pounce four years ago to make Joe Gelhardt theirs, with a reported £1.1 million fee enough to lure him from cash-strapped Wigan Athletic that summer after being promoted under Marcelo Bielsa.

The youngster could have been forgiven for thinking he would have a larger role with Leeds in the years that came, but especially in 2023/24 following the club's relegation, as opposed to languishing within Leeds' reserves or on the fringes of the first-team with very little game time to speak of last term.

Had Leeds achieved promotion through the Championship play-offs, Gelhardt’s exit from the club would surely have been accelerated. Last season, the 22-year-old was cast out of the starting picture by Farke and has every right to feel hard done by.

Gelhardt's long-term future in West Yorkshire is unclear, with his development stalling over the last couple of seasons. However, there is promise there, and the club could instead seek a loan in order to get his career back on track, with the idea of utilising him in 2025/26 instead; alternatively, they could move him on for an increased transfer fee if he impresses.

Gelhardt has reached a crossroads, having previously benefitted from a second tier loan before. With three years left on his Leeds contract, it is paramount that he secures first-team football soon to help him further realise his potential with regular second tier gametime.

Of course, he could be used as a versatile forward, capable of playing off the right-hand flank or as a second-striker/attacking midfielder, but his place in the pecking order is incredibly far down in most forward areas, due to Leeds' strength in depth in attack.

From Gelhardt's perspective, with his development stalling over the last couple of seasons, he is surely in a position where the short-term has to be regular football, be that with Leeds or at another club. There is obvious talent there but he has seldom been able to showcase it.

He is behind wingers such as Willy Gnonto, Dan James, Largie Ramazani, and Manor Solomon. Not only that, but Brenden Aaronson, Joel Piroe, Mateo Joseph, and Patrick Bamford cover Leeds in central areas, which makes it difficult to see much game time beyond a handful of minutes here and there off the bench.

Max Wober

For now, Max Wöber has been reintegrated into Farke's plans at Leeds, but his game time will also be vital between now and January in seeing where his future lies for the remainder of the 2024/25 campaign.

He was one of several first-teamers to secure loan exits from Elland Road during the summer window, with these exits a blow for the Whites considering they were unable to generate much, if any, revenue from the departures. He activated the loan clause in his contract and moved to Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga after just six months at Leeds.

Even if he is not playing regular football, he is a useful squad player to have, but the Austrian international defender only joined the Whites in January of last year. His reputation is intact after a fairly decent spell on loanin the Bundesliga, and there remains every chance he has permanent suitors in a top-flight league somewhere this by January.

Farke has confirmed Wöber would be welcomed back into the fold with Leeds for the upcoming Championship campaign, with Adam Pope of the BBC claiming that the defender would be following Aaronson into being incorporated back into the first-team plans.

However, there is still every chance that he leaves the club should they receive a viable transfer offer this January. None have been forthcoming so far, but even without regular football, Wöber should be a saleable asset for Leeds. Currently, he is behind Pascal Struijk and Joe Rodon in the centre-back pecking order, and Junior Firpo in the same regard at left-back.

If he is reintegrated and features well, then he could provide solid depth and cover for the rest of the year, but there is every chance he will grow unhappy at his lack of regular football, and may well be looking for a way out of West Yorkshire by the time January rolls around, in spite of Farke's recent comments regarding the 26-year-old's future.

After a number of summer exits from Farke's defensive pool, his side are extremely thin at the back in terms of numbers, which perhaps hands Wöber that opportunity to impress, even if the starting duo appear to be set in stone for now. The question then becomes one of whether he is happy to be a bit-part player and not a part of Leeds' best XI, which it's hard to argue that Wöber is currently.

In that sense, there is every chance he will not be plying his trade with Leeds by the end of the season, as he should not be short of interest from major European leagues due to his exploits last season.