Harry Wilson among four Leeds United stars with pre-season point to prove as squad head to USA
Leeds United are about to start their 2026 pre-season tour of the USA.
Leeds United will land in the USA today ahead of their much-anticipated pre-season tour. The Whites have a trio of friendlies to look forward to over the next fortnight, the first of which is against Wrexham this weekend.
Meetings with Premier League rivals Sunderland and Liverpool will follow as Daniel Farke’s squad begin to prepare for the upcoming campaign. The friendlies will provide an opportunity to build fitness and set down an early marker for the season ahead.
For those who spent last season on the fringes of first-team football, the US tour might also provide a chance to show Farke they’re eyeing a promotion. Below, the YEP takes a look at four players with a point to prove this summer.
Lucas Perri
A new goalkeeper is one of several positions on the summer shopping list at Leeds and the YEP understands Manchester City’s James Trafford is among those liked. But at present, the No.1 shirt is Lucas Perri’s with Karl Darlow joining Manchester United and Alex Cairns the only senior alternative.
Perri’s debut season at Leeds did not go well. He rarely looked comfortable in the Premier League and was dropped by January, but showed glimpses amid the lower-pressure environment of the FA Cup. The Brazilian might well leave this summer but until a new goalkeeper is signed, he is first-choice.
Sebastiaan Bornauw
With £34million summer signing Tarik Muharemovic still enjoying his post-World Cup holidays, Farke only has three senior centre-backs with Sebastiaan Bornauw joining regular starters Joe Rodon and Jaka Bijol. The Belgian proved a useful squad player last season and if Leeds are to stick with four central options, he will be cover across the board in 2026/27.
Bornauw only enjoyed five Premier League starts last season but Leeds didn’t lose any of those games - drawing four and beating Brighton 1-0 in May. He’ll hope that record receives a more stern test going forward. There may come a time where injury requires the 27-year-old to come into the side for a number of weeks and a good pre-season will only bring confidence.
Sean Longstaff
Another summer 2025 arrival and another whose debut campaign in West Yorkshire didn’t go as planned. Sean Longstaff looked a shoe-in to start regularly through autumn but calf injury scuppered his form while the performance-levels of positional rivals - most notably Anton Stach - made it near-impossible to return to the starting-XI.
Longstaff still had his moments, a 97th-minute leveller at Bournemouth in April the best among them, but he left Newcastle in a bid to play regular football and didn’t get it at Leeds last season. Ongoing interest in Shea Charles suggests more midfield quality is wanted this summer but the 28-year-old will be keen to show he’s still got a role to fulfil under Farke.
Harry Wilson
No one involved with Leeds is in any doubt over Harry Wilson’s quality but there always needs to be a period of adaptation when joining a new club. The 29-year-old winger will be helped by the presence of Wales teammates in Farke’s squad but new connections need to be forged, most importantly with first-choice striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Inevitably as a new signing, Wilson will garner the most excitement among fans in the United States and will be desperate to get off to a decent start, maybe with one of those trademark curling finishes. And with Brenden Aaronson still on his post-World Cup break, the right-wing spot should be his to lose already.