Leeds United exodus anticipated as out-of-contract players line up moves before retained list announcement

The Whites' successful 2024/25 campaign came to a close over the Bank Holiday weekend culminating in a parade through Leeds city centre proudly showing off the Championship trophy.

United will play Premier League football once again next season with transfers in and out expected over the coming months.

The window does not open for Leeds until mid-June but ahead of that, there will be the publication of the club's retained list for 2025/26.

While the futures of out-of-contract quintet Junior Firpo, Joe Rothwell (loan), Manor Solomon (loan), Josuha Guilavogui and Sam Byram will be decided in the coming weeks, it is widely expected not all will remain Leeds players next season.

Elsewhere at Thorp Arch, there are several Leeds Under-21 players whose deals expire this summer, many of whom are almost certain to move on and advance their careers within the English footballing pyramid.

While some have been loaned to or gone on trial with other teams previously, others are taking the decision to move away from Leeds for the first time.

Since Daniel Farke's arrival as first-team manager two summers ago, the senior squad and U21 setup have become separate entities compared to how they operated under previous coaches, in particular Marcelo Bielsa who frequently integrated the two groups.

While the Whites' premier academy side were victorious in the National League Cup this season, lifting the inaugural title after defeating several senior non-league teams, recruitment for the U21s has been less aggressive than in previous campaigns.

Recently, the Under-18s have been staffed predominantly by those who would ordinarily feature at Under-16 level, meanwhile the U21s' starting lineups have been populated by a handful of players still on first-and-second-year scholarship terms.

Many of those at the top end of the U21 age bracket have reached a stage in their careers where a clean break upon the expiry of their Leeds deals this summer is preferred.

Who is set for release?

The likes of Luca Thomas, who began the season in free-scoring form at U21 level before heading out on loan to National League clubs York City and Halifax Town, and Kris Moore are among those expected to be released this summer. Versatile defender Moore is 21 years-old, one more than Thomas, and has previously trialled with Hibernian and St. Johnstone in Scotland but a move never came to fruition.

Moore's long-time U21s centre-back partner Jeremiah Mullen was allowed to leave Leeds earlier this season to pursue a senior career in Scotland at Dunfermline Athletic, with whom he signed a short-term deal until the end of next month. The Scottish club do have an option to trigger an extension, keeping Mullen with the Pars for a further year.

Left-back Connor Ferguson, recently on loan at National League North outfit Farsley Celtic, Joe Snowdon and goalkeeper Harry Christy - all seasoned at U21 level over the past three seasons - are among those whose deals come to an end in a matter of weeks. Christy's case could be somewhat different given his position on the field and occasional inclusion within Leeds' senior ranks as a non-playing participant. Along with Sam Chambers, Harry Gray, Charlie Crew and James Debayo are considered, he is one of a select few considered a peripheral member of the main Leeds cohort.

Defender Joe Richards is one who will be named under the released section of this summer's retained list after agreeing a scholarship with the University of Delaware in the United States. Max McFadden, Rory Mahady, Dan Toulson, Marley Wilson, Manchester City loanee Brooklyn Nfonkeu and former Birmingham City academy winger Amari Miller, meanwhile, are all out of contract at Leeds this summer. Miller has not played for a number of years due to undisclosed health problems after initially showing promise in Leeds' Under-21 setup and is expected to be released.