Transfers are only going to dominate the Leeds United agenda more and more from here on out. With more than four weeks until a return to action and then only two matches until the January window opens, it’s easy to see why attention is on the chance to strengthen this squad.
However, Victor Orta’s eyes will also be on the players he already has in the building at Elland Road. With the arrival of 2023 comes not only another window, but the final six or 18 months in several contracts at Leeds.
Traditionally, clubs like to ensure nobody they are interested in keeping enters the final year of their deal. With a number of players entering their 30s, it’s an intriguing time as Orta plots the transition of this squad.
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Joel Robles signed his one-year deal in the summer, so a decision will surely be taken on him when the club takes stock next May. United have a 12-month option on Adam Forshaw’s contract, which also expires next summer, so if he impresses in the second half of this season they will be able to kick the can down the road for a few months longer.
That is the only duo with deals expiring next summer. There are 10 players with 2024 end dates and they all require some strategy or consideration.
Captain Liam Cooper was one of the better performers down the run-in last season, but has not begun this campaign the way he would have wanted. The 31-year-old surely has the status to warrant a deal that may take him close to retirement.
Stuart Dallas will, of course, be given all the time he needs to recover from the savage leg break of last season. Assuming he starts playing again in 2023, he has enough credit in the bank to justify a new deal.
Much in the way Forshaw was given time during his long road back from injury, a decision on Dallas could even go on into late 2023 in order to give him space to prove he can make it back to his previous level. Mateusz Klich, another of the senior pros who arrived in the EFL days, seems unlikely to sign a new deal at this stage.
Given how close he came to leaving in the summer transfer window and which way his playing time is surely set to go, Klich’s future is very much up in the air across the coming transfer windows. Luke Ayling is another of the older faces from the pre-promotion days whose contract is understood to expire in 2024.
While public records would suggest the 31-year-old’s terms end next summer, sources have implied it is in fact 12 months later. Still, Orta will need to make a call on the right-back’s future.
With Rasmus Kristensen established as first choice right now and Cody Drameh waiting in the wings, Ayling may have to accept diminished minutes if he is offered a new deal. Pascal Struijk also arrived at Thorp Arch during the Championship era, but he has blossomed into one of the biggest assets at the club.
Still only 23 and now being named in provisional Netherlands squads, Struijk is surely set for a massive pay hike from United and sooner rather than later. An asset Leeds have to protect.
Jack Harrison was already the subject of external transfer bids in the summer and after rebuffing that interest, a new contract seems a formality. The winger’s 26, on the verge of his peak years and in the media’s England conversation.
Drameh missed out on the raft of extensions handed out to peers Joe Gelhardt, Sam Greenwood and Crysencio Summerville, so he is one of the youngsters in need of new terms. That Cardiff City loan put the right-back high on shortlists throughout the Championship and poachers will look to take advantage of his contract situation if it’s not resolved.
Orta may wait to see how Drameh and Ayling’s seasons unfold before making a call on either. Like Klich, Rodrigo is another whose future seems uncertain.
The Spain international has endured an inconsistent two years and will be 33 by the time his contract expires. Much seems to rest on how much longer he can keep this incredible run of scoring up for.
Even if he continues to keep pace with the likes of Ivan Toney, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Mohamed Salah, he may wish to see out the latter years of his career in Spain. New terms in the near future seem unlikely as both parties weigh up their next steps, while Robin Koch seems closer to Struijk’s situation.
The 26-year-old Germany international started this season promisingly and as Cooper edges into his latter years, Koch could be someone Orta builds the next defence around. Do not be surprised if Koch is alongside Harrison and Struijk at the top of Orta’s to-do list.
Diego Llorente seems to be closer to Rodrigo’s position. The centre-back is two years younger than the striker, but his form remains inconsistent.
If Cooper, Koch and Struijk all strengthen their holds on starting slots while signing new deals, Llorente may well find it harder and harder to impress Spain with reduced minutes.
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