The 4 Leeds United players we can see leaving in January

The 4 Leeds United players we can see leaving in January

FLW takes a look at some players that could be leaving Elland Road in the not-too-distant future..

The summer transfer window was hectic for Leeds United from many angles, but the sheer number of people leaving through the Elland Road exit door stood out.

A whole host of players moved on across the summer after Leeds were relegated to the Championship for a range of reasons; some had the controversial relegation release clauses in their contracts, some simply wanted a move, some had wages too high for the second-tier of English football and there’s some who the Whites just weren’t all that keen on.

Now, we’re not neccesarily expecting such a colossal squad decimation once again in January.

But nonetheless, we do think there’s going to a few more departures from the club when the winter window rolls around in a few month’s time – and we’ve detailed them all for you here…

His situation feels very up in the air at the moment.

Injury has kept Firpo out of action to date and he’s yet to have a chance to show his worth to Daniel Farke, meaning that the German could be persuaded to grant a window of opportunity.

But on the other hand, the left-back has played top-flight football for most of his career and spent two years with Spanish giants Barcelona before being snapped up by Leeds, so it remains unclear just how willing a player of very fair pedigree will be to cut his teeth in the Championship for the remainder of the campaign.

His wages probably aren’t cheap either, and he’s certainly a figure who could well move on following the turn of the year.

That said, it feels absolutely inevitable that Gyabi will be moved on, at least on a temporary basis, come January.

He’s seldom featured at all for the West Yorkshire outfit after joining in an exciting capture from Manchester City last summer, and was a wanted man ahead of the dying embers of this one’s transfer window as potential moves to Fleetwood Town and Valenciennes were mooted.

They didn’t come to fruition, nor did interest from Championship rivals Swansea City, and it would be hugely detrimental to the young midfielder’s development to keep him at the club not playing senior football for another season.

Another player that was linked with a move in the summer is Gelhadt, who didn’t appear a million miles away from making a loan switch to high-flyers Ipswich Town.

Of course, he spent the second-half of last season on loan with Sunderland, and that’s how we think it’ll go for him this time around, too.

Leeds did have something of a striker crisis at the time and the 21-year-old has played five times in the league, but just two have been starts.

Those starts came back to back in mid-August against Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion, which just tells you something about how much he’s stumbled down the pecking order as of late and that’ll only be furthered when the likes of Patrick Bamford and Mateo Joseph return to contention.

Expect another loan for Gelhardt.

Leo Hjelde

It’s a similar story for Hjelde too, who also spent the second-half of last season on loan in the second-tier but is struggling to get a kick at the moment.

The ex-Rotherham United prospect is another one that many thought could’ve left under Farke, and perhaps just squandered his opportunity when he was hauled off at the break in their 2-2 draw at home to Cardiff City on the opening day.

He was given a tough old time of by Josh Bowler and Leeds were eventually able to overturn the two-goal defecit that had been inflicted heading into the interval, so maybe it’s not too much of a coincidence that the 20-year-old hasn’t played in the league since.

There’s clearly potential there, but akin to Gelhardt and Gyabi, he may just need regular first-team minutes elsewhere for now in order to realise it