"I wouldn't be shocked" - Double Leeds United prediction issued involving Kenny McLean and Patrick Bamford | OneFootball

It might be quite a long summer for those at Elland Road given their current situation.

This article is part of Football League World’s 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

A bounce back of confidence is what Leeds United need to find before the start of next season, as they look to write the wrongs of not winning promotion to the Premier League last time out.

The 2023/24 campaign was all about context for the Whites. They reached 90 points - a tally that would have usually taken them up - but they ended up finishing third behind Leicester City and Ipswich Town.

It was a complete anomaly of a season, and usually it could just be left at that had a certain piece of context not been at play.

The Yorkshire side's end of season form was what gave Leicester and Ipswich (particularly Town) the opportunity to win automatic promotion ahead of the Whites. They picked up four points and lost as many games in their final half-dozen fixtures of the Championship season. That's what killed them.

Their second attempt at winning promotion was also dashed via a narrow 1-0 loss to Southampton in the play-off final. The finest of margins make the difference in this game. The scoreline, and the stats like shots, shots on target, possession, suggest a tight game. But Leeds never posed any real, sustained threat.

Leeds United predicted to sign a Norwich City player and for Patrick Bamford to still be starting

Next season has to be about redemption for United, and, ahead of the 2024/25 campaign, Football League World'sLeeds fan pundit, Kris Smith, has provided some early predictions on what could happen over the summer at Elland Road.

Smith doesn't see his side moving away from their usual ways under the current boss. He thinks that ex-Norwich players that he has already manged will arrive and that the club's ever-present forward - at least on the squad list, not always the starting 11 - Patrick Bamford will, once again, lead the line at the start of next season.

"One thing that I predict, that I just cannot look past at the moment, is for Daniel Farke to continue his search for players to reunite with," Kris told FLW.

"Last summer, Sam Byram joined on a free after leaving Norwich City; he signed him when he was there.

"Max Aarons was so close to joining, and we made a bid for Kenny McLean. So I wouldn't be shocked to see him make a move for some of his former Norwich players again, especially McLean being one to look out for.

"He's spoken about the lack of experience in our squad, and he's just come off the back of a really good season for Norwich, so I'd be keeping an eye out for that.

"The second thing that I'd predict is, no matter what we do in terms of signing a striker this summer, which all Leeds fans, I think, would agree that we need one, we're going to see our season kick-off with Patrick Bamford leading the line. We just are.

Leeds may be forced to stick with the old ways, even if they don't want to

The financial situation that Leeds are currently trapped in cannot be overstated. They are going to struggle to spend this summer unless they sell some of their most valuable assets.

Players like Crysencio Summerville - the 2023/24 Championship Player of the Season - could want to move on anyway, and we may see a repeat of Wilfried Gnonto's attempts to get out of Elland Road, so the task of shifting players for cash might not be too hard.

Clubs will try and hoodwink them though if they can. In negotiations, the club have no upper-hand on anybody really. They need to sell. Unless the team on the other end is equally desperate to buy, they can just hold out until United can't bear the fiscal suffering any longer.

This lack of freedom that they will have in the transfer window may force their hand. If you're working with limited money, you're probably going to go for something that you know works.

There is a debate to be had about whether Farke signing someone like McLean, or other ex-players like Oliver Skipp, who has been linked with a move to Elland Road, would be enough to get Leeds over the hump this time around. They might not have any other choice though.