Pundit's Daniel Farke decision verdict as Leeds United handed summer transfer warning

Danny Murphy believes Leeds United have made the right decision by underlining their faith in Daniel Farke, despite missing out on promotion. The Whites brought in Farke last summer to help them reclaim a spot in the Premier League at the first time of asking and for much of the season, they looked capable of doing just that.

However, a poor run of form over the final six games of the campaign saw them miss out on automatic promotion, with Ipswich Town pipping them on the final day of the regular season. That left Leeds having to make do with a play-off place but defeat in the final at Wembley Stadium last weekend ensured they fell short of their target for the season.

As such, there had been some speculation that United could be willing to make a change at the top ahead of the new season, but chairman Paraag Marathe has thrown his support behind Farke and the German will be given the chance to go one better next time around. That's a decision Murphy backs, with the England international turned pundit pointing to how the season started at Elland Road and the work Farke did to turn the club’s fortunes on the field around.

“They had a lot of ins and outs at the start of the season," Murphy told Talksport this week. "He was late in the door and the start was catastrophic, in terms of what Leeds fans were expecting.

“He turned it around quite quickly and he’s being rewarded for that. But, ultimately, without the last bit of the season, where they couldn’t win, they’d be up by now. There must be a huge disappointment.

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“The question you have to ask is – who is better to come in and work with that group? So it’s nice to hear him being supported. He’s going to have to do some wheeling and dealing though.”

Indeed, recruitment will be key this summer as Leeds look to build a squad capable of going one better next time around. It's no secret that the Whites could be forced to sell key individuals in order to make financial ends meet, but the investment from Red Bull certainly seems to put them in a stronger position.

Farke will have high hopes of being able to add several new faces to his squad then this summer and for what it's worth at this point in the campaign, Leeds are already the early favourites to win the title for next season with the bookmakers. That's ahead of the relegated trio of Burnley, Luton Town and Sheffield United, who will all be looking to bounce back to the top flight at the first time of asking.

Middlesbrough, Norwich City and West Bromwich Albion are also being backed to challenge at the top end of the Championship next season, with the latter two falling short in the play-off semi-finals this time around.