When you ask people who they’d like to see back in the Premier League, Leeds United are usually near the top of the list.
Of course, they’re not short of rivals that are probably happy to see them still outside the top flight but you cannot deny that a club of that size would be more than a good addition to the Premier League, many feel that is where they belong.
A famous old name of English football, the hard times they’ve fallen on have been very well documented but with Garry Monk now in charge there’s beginning to be some hope around Elland Road.
Eleventh in the Championship, just off of the play-off places isn’t the worst place to be, especially wen you consider their slow start, and with a good run maybe this year will see the Whites return to the top table.
Whether they actually do remains to be seen, but it looks as though they’ve got a pretty decent squad forming under Monk. According to transfermarkt.co.uk the club have some valuable players and here are the top ten…
10. Pontus Jansson – £1.11m
The Swedish centre-half is on loan from Torino and looks like he’ll be a bit of a hit this season. Whether the Whites can keep him on past this campaign could depend on how they do this year but he looks settled and confident in Yorkshire and that could be a deciding factor.
9. Eunan O’Kane – £1.28m
The Irish international knows the Championship very well and his ability to use that knowledge sees him in this list. He has experience of getting clubs into the Premier League from his time at Bournemouth and Garry Monk will be hoping that comes in useful this season.
8. Matt Grimes – £1.7m
Grimes is currently on loan from Swansea and an England under-21 international so he should only be going to get better over the seasons to come. Leeds will be hoping that it’s with them and it could just turn out that way if new Swans manager Bob Bradley doesn’t see Grimes in his plans.
7. Marcus Antonsson – £1.7m
According to transfermarkt his value has gone up recently but the second Swede in this list only has one goal from eight appearances as a centre forward this season. Garry Monk will want him to show more over the coming months if they are to seriously challenge for a promotion place or at least the play-offs.
6. Stuart Dallas – £2.13m
Dallas has been an integral part of the Leeds set up since he signed for them last season. He can play as either a right or left sided midfielder, the latter being his preferred option, but has yet to find the net in any of his nine appearances so far.
5. Pablo Hernandez – £2.13m
Another man with a Swansea connection Hernandez was decent enough in the Premier League so Leeds will be hoping he can inspire them to reach it. Currently, he’s on loan from Al-Arabi until the end of December but with a decent showing up until then he could be offered an extension.
4. Liam Bridcutt – £2.13m
Bridcutt has experience at both Championship and Premier League level but it’s in the Championship where he seems most at home. After a fairly unsuccessful spell at Sunderland he joined Leeds in the summer and will be hoping, should they get promoted, that another chance in the top flight will be more fruitful.
3. Charlie Taylor – £2.55m
The youngster continues to impress at Elland Road and that’s reflected by his high placing on this list. How long he remains at the club depends largely on their success this season you’d imagine but a bid larger than his value would likely be needed to sign him up.
2. Kemar Roofe – £2.55m
Roofe was one of the best players in the Football League last season for Oxford United so a move was always likely to happen. It surely did in the summer and his value has held around the same figure as for what he was signed since his step up. Yet to find the net this season, but he certainly has the ability to do so.
1. Chris Wood – £2.55m
The former Leicester man and New Zealand international has yet to cut it in the Premier League but at Leeds, according to transfermarkt, he is of big importance. 18 goals in 45 games for the club in his Elland Road career is steady if not spectacular but this season he has certainly boosted that with seven in 13 so he looks to be on the way up.
