Leeds United

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Leeds United boss Daniel Farke made eight changes against Harrogate Town in their FA Cup Yorkshire derby but did the players brought in impress?

Keeper Karl Darlow kept a clean sheet amid questions over Illan Meslier's first-choice status, while defender Josuha Guilavogui might have had a lucky escape when Harrogate's Josh March went down in the penalty box.

Jonny Buchan, Adam Pope and Kaiser Chiefs bassist Simon Rix offer up their opinions on the quality on show in the latest edition of BBC Radio Leeds' Whites podcast.

Episode 136 of Don't Go To Bed Just Yet is out now and you can find it on the BBC Sounds app, or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds.

Adonis Storr
Fan writer

Image source, Rex Features

After a typical little burst of speed and chipped cross from Manor Solomon on Saturday afternoon, Largie Ramazani converted the easiest of headers to score his fourth goal for Leeds.

It was a fine reward for the Belgian's work-rate throughout the game against Harrogate.

Ramazani's United career hasn't really taken off yet.

Frustrated by an ankle ligament injury in October, his bright start of three goals and an assist in his first eight games was cut short.

What the Whites have been missing was seen against Harrogate Town, energy, a directness when attacking and a hunger for goals.

Per 90 minutes, only Joel Piroe has had more shots than Largie this season.

In a side that is accused of trying to pass the ball into the goal, he is one attacker who offers something different.

"It feels great to be back on the pitch and get a goal" said Largie in a post-match interview, "it was a frustrating period for me, obviously with the injury. I'm trying to get back my confidence and the form that I had."

Daniel Farke was questioned why he didn't play youth players like Charlie Crew and Joe Gelhardt – who are going out on loan to get minutes.

The Leeds manager instead saw the cup game as a chance to give players returning from injury a run out.

"To have the feeling of being part of the group again after a long injury, to be back on the pitch, to have the first game under the belt – it is priceless" said Farke following Saturday's game.

Along with others on the way back like Isaac Schmidt, Junior Firpo and Illia Gruev, Ramazani's return gives Leeds a welcome boost, heading into a tricky 2025, with only three points separating the top four of the Championship.

Find more from Adonis Storr at The Roaring Peacock, external

Leeds United are not looking to sell forward Wilfried Gnonto amid interest from Saudi Arabia. (Football Insider, external)

Hull City are closing in on a loan deal for Leeds striker Joe Gelhardt that will see him join the Tigers for the remainder of the season. (Hull Live, external)

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Monday's gossip here.

Hull City are set to beat Luton and Wrexham to the capture of Leeds forward Joe Gelhardt on loan for the rest of the season. (Football League World, external)

Want more EFL transfer stories? Read Sunday's full gossip column.

Image source, Rex Features

Several Championship clubs will be playing close attention to comments from Aston Villa boss Unai Emery about attacking midfielder Louie Barry.

The 21-year-old has been recalled by Villa this week after a stellar loan spell with League One Stockport, where he scored 16 goals this season.

Leeds, Sunderland, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Derby, Middlesbrough, Millwall and Coventry are among the clubs reported to be keen on taking Barry for a stint in the second tier for the remainder of the campaign.

Speaking ahead of Villa's FA Cup third round clash with West Ham, Emery said: "(Barry) trained with us and we are going to make a plan with him, an overall plan,

"I think he is a very good player who is progressing well. He has been on loan doing fantastic. Now we can have a new plan with him.

"He improved because he was scoring a lot of goals on loan. With us he only trained today and yesterday. Of course we are going to try and get a good plan for the club with him."

Image source, Rex Features

We told you earlier that an Opta statistic showed that Leeds United's Illan Meslier's 'expected goal preventions' is the lowest among the keepers in the top four clubs - Burnley's James Trafford, Sheffield United's Michael Cooper and Sunderland's Anthony Patterson.

When asked if you thought the Frenchman should stay or go, here's what you had to say.

Sue: Our goalkeeper has let us down recently. However, he does have talent. It appears to me that the right thing to do might be to put him on the bench for a few games.

My thinking is he may believe he is irreplaceable and this could give him a nudge he needs.

We have a good defence and when we didn't, he did save us. Could be the concentration isn't there any when he is involved, he tries too hard.

Neil: I would think Meslier will be hurting as we fans are.

He is generally a very good keeper, but he has to concentrate harder to cut out the costly errors.

I'm sure he will and I'm sure he will be better for the rest of the season.

Mark: He's regressed and lost confidence which affects the defence in front of him who can't be sure he'll do the right thing.

He needs to be dropped.

Carl: He hasn't improved in 4 years, gone backwards.

A liability with the ball at his feet and does not dominate his area. Time to go.

Image source, Getty Images

Leeds United goalkeeper Illan Meslier has created a lot of noise as of late.

His mistakes proved costly against Hull City on Saturday, as they did against Sunderland back in October.

But he has kept the faith of boss Daniel Farke, who points out that Meslier was named the top Championship goalkeeper last season and has kept 14 clean sheets in their current campaign.

However, a recent Opta stat that estimates the 'expected goal preventions' of all second-tier keepers who have played over 1,000 minutes saw Meslier score -0.3.

The metric subtracts the number of goals conceded by a keeper (in Meslier's case - 17) from his expected goals faced (where the relative shot quality of each on-target attempt is calculated and totalled; for Meslier it's 16.7).

The Frenchman has prevented the least amount of goals of any of the top four clubs' keepers, with the other three - Burnley's James Trafford (7), Sheffield United's Michael Cooper (4.7) and Sunderland's Anthony Patterson (2.9) - all having positive goal prevention scores.

It also places Meslier in the bottom half of Championship keepers for such stats - for a team challenging for the title, does that mean he is the weak link?

And if so, does he need to go? Or do the numbers lie and it's a case of lies, damn lies and statistics?

Let us know what you think here.

Image source, Getty Images

This will be the first ever competitive meeting between Leeds United and Harrogate Town, with the Whites only progressing from one of their last five FA Cup ties against sides from England's fourth tier.

Leeds United have progressed from four of their past five FA Cup ties against fellow Yorkshire sides, with their latest witnessing the Whites beat Rotherham United 2-0 at Elland Road in January 2016.

Leeds are hoping to beat Werder Bremen to the signing of former Germany striker Mergim Berisha from Hoffenheim, with a long-term loan deal a possibility. (Sky Sports Germany, external)

Want more EFL transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column.

Image source, Rex Features

Leeds United boss Daniel Farke has been named the EFL's Championship manager of the month for December.

Leeds were unbeaten last month, with five wins and one draw from their six games, which saw them finish 2024 top of the table.

They also only conceded two goals in that run, while scoring 13.

It is the first time Farke has won the award this season.

Leeds have drawn their opening two games of January and host Harrogate Town in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.

QPR head coach Marti Cifuentes, Burnley's Scott Parker and Danny Rohl of Sheffield Wednesday were also nominated for the award.

Adam Pope
BBC Radio Leeds reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Boss Daniel Farke has held his press conference ahead of Saturday's first competitive fixture between Leeds United and Harrogate Town.

The Yorkshire clubs meet in the FA Cup third round (17:45 GMT) and the German discussed a number of topics, here's a recap of the main points...

• Karl Darlow will start in goal after Illan Meslier's poor showing at Hull City. Farke gave a long answer on how he has dealt with Meslier and on his role in conceding at the MKM Stadium, but emphasised how highly regarded the 24-year-old is.

• Striker Patrick Bamford is out for four weeks with a hamstring injury. He may be back in training by the end of the month. Fellow forward Joel Piroe is struggling and will not face Harrogate. Max Wober (knee) is the other major injury concern. Junior Firpo, Pascal Struijk and Illia Gruev are all making progress.

• On the possibility of signing a striker, Farke said: "We have Joel Piroe, Mateo Joseph, perhaps even Willy Gnonto, but we're not in panic mode. I hope Patrick's rehab progresses well but he's been struggling with injuries over the season. We won't fall asleep until the end of January." He reiterated that he expects a "quiet" transfer window.

• On the possibility of striker Joe Gelhardt going out on loan: "It's important for their development. Joffy is one of the candidates. Who will go out, we will take the decision in the upcoming days, what is beneficial for us, not for other clubs." Farke added that Gelhardt is fine to speak to other clubs if he feels game time elsewhere may be beneficial but he, "hasn't made a decision yet".

• On League Two opponents Harrogate Town: "In the cup competition, everything is possible. We see many upsets and surprising results. You never take it for granted the favourite goes through. They will make it difficult, defend for their lives, cause problems on counter-attack. If we start like we did v Hull, it's difficult to go into the next round.

• In terms of his attitude to team selection for the cup tie, he added: "We will rotate a bit more than for a league game but we want to go through... We need to find a balance not to risk injured players but have a strong starting line-up on the pitch."

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

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Queens Park Rangers boss Marti Cifuentes. Leeds United's Daniel Farke, Burnley's Scott Parker and Danny Rohl of Sheffield Wednesday are the four nominees for the Championship's manager of the month award for December.

Rangers started last month second from bottom of the Championship but took 11 points from six games to finish the year in 17th place, five points clear of the relegation zone.

Under Farke, Leeds went unbeaten through the month of December with five wins and one draw which left them top of the table at the end of 2024.

Burnley's amazing defensive record was once again to the fore last month as they conceded only three goals in their six unbeaten games, with three wins and three draws keeping Parker's side well in the race for automatic promotion.

Rohl has led Wednesday into the top half of the Championship and to the fringes of the play-off race.

The Owls came from behind to beat Derby and Oxford before recovering a 3-0 deficit at Middlesbrough to secure a 3-3 draw.

The winner of the award will be announced on Friday morning.

Adam Pope
BBC Radio Leeds reporter

Image source, Rex Features

With his contract up in the summer, Sam Byram has told me that he is keen to remain at Elland Road.

"Obviously, I'd love to stay here," Byram, 31, revealed exclusively to BBC Radio Leeds.

"But it's not always in the control of the player. For this season my aim is to get Leeds promoted and whatever comes after that will come."

Byram admits that returning the club to the Premier League in his second spell at Elland Road would be the pinnacle of his career to date.

"I think with any sort of goal you're striving for, you never really focus on when it's there because you are trying so hard to get to it.

"If, and hopefully when, it comes then you really sit and reflect. For me, if we were to do that, I can't think of anything in my career that I would have done that could top that."

Former academy product Byram, who successfully marked Gareth Bale when then Championship Leeds beat high-flying Spurs 2-1 in the FA Cup twelve years ago this month, still has ambitions to win the famous competition.

United's campaign begins in the third round on Saturday when they host neighbours Harrogate Town of League Two (17:45 GMT).

"I'd love to win it," Byram said.

"I think if there's any team in the Championship that can step up with the Premier League teams in a one-off game then I think it's us that can do something.

"Everybody wants a cup run. For me and everyone else we want to see how far we can go."

Promotion and the little tin idol aloft at Wembley would be some season!

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.

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Two Championship fixtures have been selected for free-to-air TV coverage in the coming weeks.

The all-Yorkshire game between Leeds United and Sheffield Wednesday at Elland Road on Sunday, 19 January (12:00 GMT) will be broadcast live on ITV1 and ITVX.

The Tees-Wear derby between Middlesbrough and Sunderland on Monday, 3 February (20:00 GMT) will also be screened live on ITV4 and ITVX.

It is part of an agreement between Sky Sports, ITV and the EFL , externalto give fans the chance to watch coverage of selected EFL and EFL Cup fixtures on free-to-air channels.

There are five straight days of free-to-air coverage of the FA Cup third round, from this Thursday, across the BBC and ITV.

The second leg of the EFL Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Tottenham at Anfield on Thursday, 6 February (20:00 GMT) will also be broadcast live on ITV1 and ITVX.

You can find all this week's fixtures here.

Leeds boss Daniel Farke wants a reunion with Nottingham Forest defender Andrew Omobamidele, whom he managed at Norwich and has been likened to Rio Ferdinand. (Leeds Live, external)

Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson, who has been linked with Leeds forward Patrick Bamford, says he won't make signings for the sake of it this month. (The Leader, external)

Want more EFL transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column.

Adam Pope
BBC Radio Leeds reporter

Image source, BBC Sport

Leeds United forward Joe Gelhardt is expected to leave the club on loan this month.

Gelhardt, 22, has started only one match this season - United's 3-0 defeat by Middlesbrough in the EFL Cup in August - and has rarely featured in Daniel Farke's matchday squad.

The deal may be dependant on the extent of Patrick Bamford's current injury, however, after the 31-year-old missed Leeds' trip to Hull at the weekend with a hamstring problem.

Hull are believed to be one of the clubs interested in Gelhardt, who has not scored for the Whites since August 2023.

Has the time come for Leeds boss Daniel Farke to make a change in goal after another high-profile mistake from Illan Meslier in the draw against Hull City?

Jonny Buchan, Adam Pope and Kaiser Chiefs bassist Simon Rix give their take on the issue in the latest edition of BBC Radio Leeds' podcast Don't Go To Bed Just Yet.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds.