LEEDS — Leeds United managing director Robbie Evans says the club wants manager Daniel Farke to stay "long-term" with both sides "on the same page" over a new contract. Farke, who has won 76 of his 153 games in charge since joining in 2023, is in the final year of his current deal after guiding Leeds to promotion in 2024-25 followed by a 14th-placed Premier League finish and an FA Cup semi-final last season. The Whites have taken five points from three league games to start the new campaign.
Evans said Farke has done "a fantastic job" and that discussions have been ongoing for three months. "As far as the contract discussions themselves, Daniel and his team and I have had really good chats for the past three months and they're all on the same page," he said. "Unlike signing him back in 2023 or doing a deadline day deal kind of thing the time pressure is far reduced and so we have a time to get it right as far as what he wants and what we want."
He added: "I don't feel it's taking a long time. It just means we're getting it right and also we have time to get it right and so as long as we're still operating together as a group, and we're doing great on that front, I'm not worried." Evans summed up the stance succinctly: "The short answer is that he's done great, we want him to be here long-term and we're working on it."
Evans also assessed a busy summer window headlined by England goalkeeper James Trafford arriving from Manchester City in a deal worth up to £45m. Trafford has kept two clean sheets in four appearances for Leeds. The club also added defenders Tarik Muharemovic and Nico Elvedi, Fulham winger Harry Wilson, Nice defender Melvin Bard and Eintracht Frankfurt forward Jean-Matteo Bahoya on deadline day. "I think last year the phrase was we had a good window and a bad deadline. I would say this summer was a good window and a good deadline," Evans said, noting top objectives for a left-footed centre-half, right winger and goalkeeper were completed early.
The window required one major sale to meet profit and sustainability rules (PSR) before the 30 June compliance deadline, with Netherlands international Pascal Struijk sold to Brighton in a reported £20m deal. Evans said he was "thankful" only one player needed to be sold, a position helped by the FA Cup run and minimal January business. "Pascal's appeal to other teams was clear before the year was over and then he was debating going or not and he was helpful in deciding pretty quickly so we could decide to sell him before 30 June," he said. PSR is now being replaced by squad-cost ratio (SCR) moving forward.