"Big" Daniel Farke contract update emerges at Leeds amid Championship surge

“Big” Daniel Farke contract update emerges at Leeds amid Championship surge

Leeds United are absolutely flying right now. A resounding 4-0 win over Swansea City on Tuesday night was their seventh in a row in the Championship, and they’ve kept four consecutive clean sheets too.

After Southampton’s 25-game unbeaten streak came to an end with a 3-1 defeat at Bristol City, the Whites have now climbed into the Championship promotion places, albeit having played a game more. When previously they had looked destined for the playoffs, they now have a real chance of avoiding that jeopardy.

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It’s shaping up to be a dream start to a new era at Elland Road following the takeover by 49ers Enterprises last summer and the appointment of Daniel Farke as permanent manager.

49ers prepared to give Farke a pay rise

Now, according to Football Insider, Leeds, and by extension the 49ers, are ready to offer Farke a new contract if they achieve promotion this season, even though he still has more than three years to run on his existing deal. The 49ers have clearly been very impressed by what they’ve seen from the German so far.

Farke could be in line to get a “big” pay rise in West Yorkshire as part of the potential extension, which would be a significant show of faith in his ability to keep them in the Premier League.

“Aggressive” Farke has been a real hit at Leeds

While some would say that relegated sides are bound to be among the favourites to get promoted, Farke still walked into a difficult situation at Leeds. The 2022/23 season had descended into a mess, with three different managers – Jesse Marsch, Javi Gracia and Sam Allardyce – taking turns in the hot seat. What’s more, while the Whites posted the third-highest outlay in the division during the transfer window, they also lost 16 players, including Tyler Adams, Rodrigo, Robin Koch, Max Wober, Luis Sinisterra, Marc Roca, Rasmus Kristensen and Brenden Aaronson. In the end, they virtually broke even with a net spend of just £2m.

Championship net spend, 23/24

Rank

Club

Figure

1

Stoke City

£13m

2

Hull City

£6.4m

3

Millwall

£5.6m

4

Ipswich Town

£4m

5

Preston North End

£3.3m

6

Huddersfield Town

£2.6m

7

Leeds United

£2m

8

Plymouth Argyle

£1.8m

9

Cardiff City

£1.7m

10

Sunderland

£1.5m

Farke, though, has gone from strength to strength as the Leeds boss, winning two of the last three Manager of the Month awards. He’s done so while implementing a desirable and exciting style of play too, with Leeds inside the top three for possession (57.3%), expected goals per 90 (1.79), expected goals against per 90 (0.8) and tackles in the attacking third (90). It is, in the words of journalist Josh Bunting, an “aggressive” approach that’s “full of energy”.

The 47-year-old is something of a promotion specialist after taking Norwich up to the top flight on two occasions, but his record in the Premier League may be a slight cause for concern. In his first season (19/20), the Canaries posted the sixth-lowest points tally in the league’s history (21), and in his second (21/22), he only lasted until November before he was sacked, with just five points on the board from 11 games. Clearly, there’s confidence that he’s learned from his previous mistakes and can succeed at the third time of asking, providing things go well over the coming months.