Leeds United's new best XI & bench as star departs with incoming attacker signing and 'keeper change

Six weeks have now passed since Leeds United signed off from their first season back in the Premier League - and the club’s strongest XI and bench already now has a different look to it.

A Leeds side whose top-flight survival was sealed with three games still remaining finished the 2025-26 campaign with a final day 3-1 defeat at West Ham who are now heading for the Championship as Leeds prepare for their second year back in the big time.

Ahead of the new season and the summer transfer window opening, Leeds announced their retained list on June 10 with news that keeper Illan Meslier would be leaving the club upon his contract expiring this summer. It was also confirmed that loanee attacker Facundo Buonanotte would return to parent club Brighton.

Leeds also revealed they were in discussions with three other players whose contracts expired this summer, two of them being keepers in Karl Darlow and Alex Cairns plus full-back Sam Byram although all three players are now technically speaking free agents.

News of a very big exit then emerged at the start of this month as centre-back Pascal Struijk completed a £20m switch to Brighton as Leeds themselves closed in on a major new signing in Harry Wilson as a free transfer from Fulham.

Wilson’s move to Leeds is done although yet to be announced. With Wilson incoming but Struijk, Meslier and Buonanotte gone, here, we run through our idea of the new strongest Leeds XI and bench as things stand with Wilson still to be added to the mix.