Patrick Bamford out: The 3 Leeds United players surely eyeing an early January exit | OneFootball

FLW outline the players most likely to be pushing for a move away from Leeds United next month.

Leeds United are currently chasing automatic promotion at the second time of asking under Daniel Farke in the 2024/25 season.

In spite of the loss of various key players, Leeds entered the 2024/25 Championship season with plenty of ambition and plenty of high-quality players relative to the level they are playing at. They faced a tough summer period of rebuilding, with multiple players leaving the club.

Losing the likes of Georginio Rutter, Archie Gray, and Crysencio Summerville in big-money deals certainly came as a tough pill to swallow. That hasn't stopped them from beginning the first half of this campaign extremely well. An already talented squad was aided by smart recruitment, including Ethan Ampadu, Pascal Struijk, and Willy Gnonto as key figures from last year remaining this season.

Largie Ramazani and Ao Tanaka are two names that have stood out among the better summer signings thus far. However, many of the additions Leeds made were bought for significant fees, namely Joe Rodon, Ramazani, Jayden Bogle, and Tanaka.

They cannot afford to be totally inactive in the market again over the next month and will know the importance of getting the January transfer window right this time around. It could be pivotal in shaping the second half of the campaign, and recruitment discussions and plans will be going on all the time behind the scenes.

However, there are also a number of players that have not played regularly, who will be pushing for game time via a loan or permanent switch elsewhere. Here, we have taken a look at the players most likely to be eyeing an exit from Elland Road during January.

Joe Gelhardt

For all parties involved, Joe Gelhardt's immediate future needs to be at another club by the end of January. Even if it is just in the short-term via a loan switch, the 22-year-old forward is in desperate need of regular football. In an ideal world, he will be given that elsewhere, thus increasing his value or his chances of playing in a white shirt again one day.

After initially joining Leeds' U-21 team from Wigan Athletic, there was plenty of excitement around Gelhardt, who may have expected a larger role following the club's relegation. With limited game time last season and his position on the fringes of the first team, Gelhardt could be seeking a fresh start this January rather than continuing to languish in Leeds' reserves.

The 22-year-old was pushed out of Farke’s plans last term, and it’s understandable if he feels frustrated by his lack of opportunities. His long-term future in West Yorkshire is uncertain, as his development has stalled over the last few seasons now. However, he still has plenty of promise and untapped potential, and Leeds may consider sending him out on loan to get his career back on track.

Although Gelhardt offers versatility, as he is able to play on the right flank or as a second striker/attacking midfielder, he remains low in the pecking order due to Leeds' depth in attack. He now faces a pivotal decision in his career, especially as he struggles to secure a consistent place in matchday squads, let alone get regular minutes off the bench.

Recent reports from the Yorkshire Evening Post state that Gelhardt is looking to seek an exit in the next transfer window after finding regular match minutes hard to come by once again under Farke this season. That loan deal would suit all parties at this stage in his career and development, with numerous second-tier sides keen on his services.

Patrick Bamford

It’s unlikely that Leeds will sanction deals for two forward players without at least one other body coming in to bolster their attacking ranks, and it’s also possible that only one of Patrick Bamford or Gelhardt will be allowed to leave the club at all in January, irrespective of incomings.

Bamford's place in the pecking order is clearly not what it once was, despite an impressive few months during the team’s good run last season from January until March. In that period, he proved that his type of profile is perhaps the most well-suited to Farke’s system. However, Mateo Joseph has evidently overtaken him in that respect now.

Joel Piroe also continues to pick up the regular minutes as a starting striker as well. That, plus Bamford’s injury issues, have left him in a strange situation for the first time in his Leeds career. He may wish to pursue a new challenge at some stage, with some reports stating that his time at Leeds is soon coming to an end.

Football Insider claim that Bamford is planning to depart Elland Road next summer after growing increasingly frustrated with his lack of game time, but a move could materialise sooner. Last season he scored just eight goals in 33 Championship appearances, and the days are long behind him of scoring regularly in the top-flight.

That said, he has been a good servant to the Whites over the years since joining from Middlesbrough in 2018 and was particularly effective during the 2020/21 Premier League season, in which he scored 17 goals in 38 outings. He may now be the third choice, but he has something to offer during the twilight of his career, and both he and Leeds will be aware of that fact.

Charlie Crew

Yet another talented midfielder to come through the ranks in recent years, Charlie Crew, was given a professional contract earlier this year, with the 17-year-old agreeing terms to stay for another two years, which highlights his potential.

Crew started his career at Cardiff City, where he played in the club's academy from the age of seven. In 2022, he transferred to Leeds for an undisclosed fee, joining the club's U-18s initially, before being promoted to the U-23 team in January 2023.

It's been a rapid rise since then, with Crew involved in the first-team set-up, but he is now behind Ampadu, Tanaka, Joe Rothwell, Ilia Gruev, and Josuha Guilavogui in Farke's first-team plans. Despite that, he is regarded as a top talent within the academy, and he won his first senior cap for the Wales national team before ever making a senior appearance for Leeds.

His solitary appearance came four minutes from time against Plymouth Argyle earlier in the season, but Crew has often been an unused substitute this term, especially when injuries stretched them thin. He is regularly the most inexperienced player named among the substitutes, but you would think a loan move could be on the horizon for Crew in the near future.