Leeds United

Image source, Leeds United

Forward Marley Wilson has signed his first professional contract with Leeds United as the Whites prepare for their 2024-25 Championship campaign.

The 18-year-old has been given a one-year deal after impressing in the Under-18 Premier League, FA Youth Cup and Premier League 2.

Wilson is able to play anywhere across the frontline and scored 18 goals in 42 appearances last season.

Image source, Leeds United

Dan Toulson has also put pen to paper on his first pro deal - a one-year contract.

The versatile defender - who played as a holding midfielder, centre-half and left-back last season - is already a key player in the Whites' under-18 and under-21 teams.

Toulson also played every minute in Leeds United's journey to the FA Youth Cup final last season.

Image source, Leeds United

Meanwhile, midfielder Joe Snowdon has signed a one-year contract extension to summer 2025.

The 20-year-old impressed in the Premier League 2 last season, making 12 appearances and scoring four times.

He also featured in a number of cup competitions for the youth team.

Leeds have confirmed Diego Llorente has joined Real Betis on a permanent deal for a fee in excess of 3m Euros (£2.5m).

Llorente made 59 appearances in all competitions for the Whites.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Leeds United have announced Reuben Lopata-White has signed his first professional contract at the club.

The 18-year-old has penned a three-year deal, until the summer of 2027, after having played for both Leeds' under-18 and under-21 sides last season.

The defender made four starts for the under-21 side and scored one goal.

Versatile defender Joe Richards, 18, has also signed a deal until the summer of 2025.

The club have also confirmed that Harry Christy has signed a new contract.

The 20-year-old goalkeeper has agreed a new one-year deal at Elland Road, which will see him remain with the club until the summer of 2025.

Christy has been a regular for the under-18 and under-21 sides and featured on the bench for the first team in an FA Cup match last season.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Radio Leeds' Adam Pope has said Joe Rodon "is a Premier League player" after the Whites announced the signing of the Wales defender following a successful loan spell.

Speaking on the Don't Go To Bed Just Yet podcast, Pope said there was "nothing not to love about the deal" and asked whether it "quelled the fury" around the club potentially selling more of their stars, after Archie Gray's move to Tottenham.

Kaiser Chiefs bassist Simon Rex replied: "It helped. If it had initially been announced as £30m plus Rodon for Archie people would have seen why that was a good idea.

"Everyone would love to see Archie and Charlie Cresswell [who left to join Toulouse] skippering Leeds to glory, but in terms of level-headedness it makes a lot of sense to get Rodon back. We saw he was really great last year.

"It's good to see a player - I'm sure he's getting paid well at Leeds - not go to the Premier League when you can. It's really rare these days. He obviously sees value in finishing what they started last season.

"He sees the future of Leeds being in the Premier League. He's willing to risk having a year in the Championship again, getting better and going up with Leeds."

Listen to the full episode of Don't Go To Bed Just Yet on BBC Sounds

Leeds United are still expected to sell winger Crysencio Summerville, forward Georginio Rutter and Italy striker Wilfried Gnonto this summer. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Kaiser Chiefs bassist Simon Rix joins BBC Radio Leeds' Adam Pope to discuss a few players leaving while fans await new blood, the need for a midfielder to shoot on sight and whether Marcelo Bielsa gives better hugs than Gareth Southgate.

Listen to the full episode of Don't Go To Bed Just Yet on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Leeds have brought goalkeeper Alex Cairns back to the club in a permanent move from Salford City.

The 31-year-old, who began his career with the club has signed a two-year contract.

The club said he will offer "a wealth of experience" and "competition" in the goalkeeping department, boasting 300 career league games.

He played in every league game for Salford last season and becomes Leeds' second summer signing, following Joe Rodon's move from Tottenham.

Image source, Getty Images

Defender Charlie Cresswell has completed his £3.8m move from Leeds United to Toulouse.

The 21-year-old academy graduate made his first-team debut in September 2020, and featured 14 times for the Whites.

He spent the 2022-23 season on loan at Championship side Millwall.

Cresswell's transfer to Toulouse initially broke down last week over personal terms, but agreement has now been reached for the centre-back to make the switch to the French top flight.

Adam Pope
BBC Radio Leeds reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Leeds United have accepted a revised bid overnight from Real Betis for defender Diego Llorente.

Spanish reports suggest the fee is 3m euros (£2.5m), though I understand it is more than that, which is what the Whites rejected earlier this month.

The 30-year-old centre-back has been on loan at Roma for the past 18 months and there was little prospect of him wanting to return to Elland Road, where his departure means a considerable wage off the books.

Salford goalkeeper Alex Cairns will rejoin Leeds United as cover for Illan Meslier following the departure of Kristoffer Klaesson to Rakow Czestochowa.

Cairns will be classed as a homegrown player. The 31-year-old made one appearance for United in his first spell at the club before signing for Chesterfield in 2015.

And defender Charlie Cresswell will complete his £3.8m move to Toulouse after the transfer was revived last week.

Listen to West Yorkshire Sport Daily, weeknights at 18:00, and subscribe to BBC Radio Leeds' Don't Go To Bed Just Yet podcast on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Goalkeeper Kris Klaesson has joined Rakow Czestochowa after three years at Leeds United.

Klaesson, who signed from Valerenga in 2021, leaves having made three first-team appearances for the Whites.

The club said: "Everyone at Leeds United would like to thank Kris for his efforts while at Elland Road and we wish him the best of luck for the rest of his career."

Real Betis have reached an agreement with Leeds United to sign defender Diego Llorente. (Marca - in Spanish), external

Want more transfer news? Read Monday's full gossip column

Lewis Deighton
Fan writer

Still in the Championship. Aaronson back. Gray gone. Fans barred for pre-season. Red on the shirt. 49ers out! Or maybe we should all just calm down?

On the one hand, to sell a home-grown generational talent is of course bitterly disappointing but on the other, to get £30m and Joe Rodon for an 18-year-old is undeniably good business.

The play-off final loss was always going to have financial consequences – and perhaps because we had resigned ourselves to losing Crysencio Summerville, selling Archie Gray has come as a bit of a shock. I will say though, that in a world where 17-year-old Jude Bellingham can go from Birmingham City to Real Madrid in three years, this is an essential move for him.

I really like the new home kit. It is a clean, simplistic design which is right up my street – particularly the collar with its blue and yellow trim. Yes, the bulls are red, but that is what happens when a multi–billion–pound company knocks on a Championship club's door. It is Red Bull's debut in English football, so it is understandable that they would opt for their own colours.

The more prominent concern surrounding Red Bull is their track record of rebranding. SV Austria Salzburg, founded in 1933, had their club name, stadium name, badge and colours changed when Red Bull bought the club in 2005. As it stands, it is only a minority stake in Leeds United, but their near-decade-long interest in the club prior would suggest that they are here long-term.

If at some point in the modern game we are faced with sacrificing identity for established top-flight and European football, what do you do? Where do you draw the line? Leeds have stated that the club's name and logo will remain unchanged, but you have to wonder how long for.

We asked for your views on Leeds United's home kit for the 2024-25 Championship season and we have been inundated with responses.

Here are some of your thoughts:

Mike: Grim. They clearly know the traditionalists' aversion to red, due to the Yorkshire/Lancashire thing, yet they ploughed ahead regardless. I think this is the first step in a full Red Bull rebrand.

Oli: The kit is stunning! I think people should stop crying about a bit of red - it is £60m!

Charlie: It was highly unlikely Red Bull were ever going to change their logo for the first kit. Ultimately, they want to see a return on their investment. Therefore, chucking a bit of controversy out there by having red on the famous white shirt will only increase fan engagement. It chucks more publicity out there for Red Bull, which is very much in their interest.

Becca: Absolutely no surprise. It's like a normal shirt with a sponsor on! I think the uproar is unnecessary! It is a great shirt, similar to our previous one, just with a new sponsor. It is great that they have kept their logo and the main colours. I like it!

Cam: I know some people say, "it's only a bit of red, why are you all kicking off for?" but it is these small changes that keep defacing our club little by little. I will not be getting the home shirt this season. I'm hoping that the second and third kits are a lot better.

Jim: Sorry, it's awful. You simply can't have the colour red anywhere in the kit. Even the McDonald's which is close to Elland Road doesn't have the colour red anywhere in the restaurant.

Caroline: The home shirts for the last two seasons were great, but this one is a big no! Red Bull are already stamping their authority and they are dismissing our history.

John: I'm not worried about how the kit looks - it is about who wears it and how they perform that matters. We need to focus on the squad and who is staying, leaving or arriving. We need to win our matches and we will all be happy to wear the shirt.

Adam Pope
BBC Radio Leeds reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Leeds United defender Charlie Cresswell's move to French top-flight side Toulouse is back on after it broke down over personal terms earlier this week.

The centre-back is due to fly back out to France this weekend and complete the already agreed deal for around £3.8m.

It is understood that the 21-year-old England youth international has been attracting interest from other Championship clubs.

Image source, Leeds United FC

Leeds United have released their home kit for the upcoming season, the first to be sponsored by new principal partner Red Bull.

The club describe it as an "iconic white jersey", featuring a Yorkshire Rose back of the neck crest that "pays homage to the club and city’s history."

But what do you reckon?

Are you happy with the kit?

Let us know here, external

Adam Pope
BBC Radio Leeds reporter

At least Joe Rodon came back. At least Georginio Rutter remains. At least Leeds United are not worried about breaching profit and sustainability rules. At least Archie Gray was sold for lots of money.

But Gray has gone and the sadness at another shiny academy talent fulfilling his potential elsewhere has not.

Aaron Lennon, Jonathan Woodgate, Alan Smith, Jonny Howson, Fabian Delph, Lewis Cook, Kalvin Phillips - the list goes on.

Kids in Leeds want to be these players in Leeds shirts playing for Leeds forever, like Paul Madeley did.

At least he did. At least Eddie Gray did. It is different now but it still hurts.

Maybe Tottenham pulling the trigger on Gray's release clause meant United could keep their powder dry and not succumb to a further £30m in the coffers from Brighton for Rutter.

The languid trickery of the smiling Frenchman has made him a fans' favourite - not in an 'Archie, he's one of our own' vein, but in the captivating wizardry and charismatic style of play which make him something unique in the Championship.

Eight goals in 64 appearances tells you his shooting is wayward, but at least he loves horses.

Georgi was key to the almost-made-it-over-the-line effort of last season, having turned around a rough start at Elland Road.

Leeds could end up shelling out £35m on the 22-year-old after his mega move from Hoffenheim 18 months ago. There are those who would snap Brighton's hand off to recoup nearly all of it it in one fell Seagulls swoop, but many with Rutter on their replica shirts would not want to hear his infectious giggle on another club's latest new signing video.

United either dared not or did not want to... at least they did not have to.

Kit leaks with red bulls on, Gray to the big smoke and a block on supporters watching friendly matches in Germany made it a shocking weekend for Leeds fans.

Rodon back at the crease and Rutter not out has steadied the pre-season innings.

At least it is only six weeks until it all starts again.

Image source, Leeds United

Adam Pope
BBC Radio Leeds reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Leeds United have rejected a bid from Real Betis for defender Diego Llorente.

The Spain international, 30, has spent the past season and a half on loan at Italian top-flight club Roma. His contract at Elland Road runs until 2026.

Meanwhile, there has also been initial interest from French side Stade Rennais for Glen Kamara, but Leeds are not looking to sell the midfielder.

Paris St-Germain have enquired about Leeds United's 22-year-old Dutch forward Crysencio Summerville. (De Telegraaf - in Dutch, external)

Want more transfer news? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Adam Pope
BBC Radio Leeds reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Leeds United have rejected a £30m offer from Brighton for striker Georginio Rutter.

It is understood Albion made the bid for the 22-year-old Frenchman after signing winger Yankuba Minteh from fellow Premier League side Newcastle United for £30m on Monday.

They have also previously shown interest in Elland Road forward Crysencio Summerville.

Rutter has four years left on his contract with the Championship side after being signed from Hoffenheim in January 2023 in a club record deal which could rise to £35m.

He has scored eight goals in 64 appearances for Leeds.