‘I Genuinely Thought’ – Ex-PL Star Makes Admission On Leeds United’s Status | OneFootball

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Former Premier League striker Dean Ashton has admitted if Leeds United had held on to win at Aston Villa he would have considered them safe this season.

Daniel Farke’s side headed to Villa Park having won just once on the road in the Premier League this season, something which has put heavy pressure on their home form.

The Whites have regularly delivered at Elland Road, making any points away from home something of a bonus.

They led though at Villa Park on Saturday, courtesy of a superb Anton Stach free kick in the first half, until the 88th minute when Tammy Abraham popped up to equalise.

Both sides ended up having to settle for a share of the spoils as the Premier League contest ended 1-1.

The draw has edged Leeds up to 31 points from their 27 Premier League games, which is the same number of points the Whites accumulated in the 2022/23 season, where they finished second from bottom and were relegated.

Ashton admits that if Leeds had held on to claim all three points at Aston Villa then he would have considered them safe.

The former striker though does ultimately believe Leeds will keep collecting points and will secure their Premier League status.

He said on talkSPORT (21st February, 17:15): “I genuinely thought if they had held on they were safe.

“I honestly thought if they won the game here they were safe and that would be enough.

“I just don’t see the others getting the amount of points they would need.

“I still think they are going to be safe.

“You watch them play, how confident they have been; they are going to pick up more points if they continue in this manner.”

Leeds’ form represents a remarkable turnaround for Farke, with Richard Keys insisting he could not see how the German would keep his job in late November.

The Whites were also suggested to have considered replacing Farke before the season even began, with talk that Jose Mourinho was offered the post.

Farke will be confident no similar speculation will pop up this coming summer if he can make sure Leeds survive in their first campaign back in the Premier League.