Top job offers will surely soon arrive for Leeds mastermind Farke after over-achieving Whites campaign | OneFootball

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke is on the cusp of leading the Whites to Premier League survival to complete what has proved a season of overachievement at Elland Road – and one has to wonder how long it will be before some clubs higher up the food chain come knocking for the likeable German who still does not get the credit he deserves.

The West Yorkshire side brought in Farke in the wreckage of their last relegation from the Premier League; a campaign that had seen the Whites get through three different managers, and with famed firefighter Sam Allardyce the last man at the helm, but having failed to achieve the objective of keeping Leeds up.

The truth of the matter is that Leeds were already deep in the mire before Allardyce took charge, but for all the uncertainty that campaign brought, Farke has since steadied the ship and brought a stability and calmness not seen at Elland Road for a good number of years.

While the football, the selections and lack of substitutions are not to everyone’s taste within the fanbase, Farke deserves enormous respect for having driven Leeds to the cusp of Premier League safety.

Ahead of Friday’s game with already relegated Burnley, a bit of a bogey side for Leeds in recent times, Farke has helped the Whites rack up 40 points from their 34 games to date – a tally which, in the majority of other seasons, would already have been enough.

Before the campaign had kicked off, Farke had set Leeds the target of 10 wins or 38 points (one per game) across the duration of the campaign. And having already surpassed that total with four games to spare, it is not too much of a stretch to say the Whites have overachieved.

Had Chelsea not sacked Liam Rosenior in the build-up to Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final, Leeds may also have been celebrating a first final in the competition since 1973.

As it was, they could not reproduce their best when the opportunity was before them; Chelsea’s £550m-assembled side ultimately woke from their slumbers to assert their authority and book themselves a showdown with Manchester City that could yet salvage silverware this season.

Nonetheless, progress through to a first semi-final in the world’s oldest knockout competition since 1987 represents a major step for Leeds – and gives them a taste of what they hope can be more cup adventures.

The quest now for Farke, once survival has been achieved, is to further strengthen his squad and help them push even higher up the table next season.

But could the club soon face the threat of losing the 49-year-old to a club higher up the food chain…?

Could a big fish look to reel him Daniel Farke in?

Given the current managerial merry-go-round, it seems surprising that Farke does not find his name touted with any bigger jobs in the Premier League, or indeed back in his native Germany.

Perhaps there is a certain snobbery still attached to the German for his yo-yo existence with Norwich, and somewhat underwhelming season in charge at Borussia Monchengladbach.

But steering Leeds to safety upon their return to the Premier League (let’s not forget all six of the sides promoted to the top flight, before this one, had all suffered the instant drop) and into the last four of the FA Cup shows Farke is certainly, at least, deserving of plenty more credit.

He’s also proved this season he’s a manager who can adapt; showing the flexibility to mix up Leeds’ tactics at a critical stage of his and the club’s season. The improvement has been evident, with just five defeats in 26 games since altering to that 3-5-2, or variation of it, at half-time of that fateful day at Manchester City in late November.

Whether that translates into a concrete job offer down the line remains to be seen, though former Leeds boss Simon Grayson is among those who certainly feels Farke deserves more credit for his achievements this season.

Speaking to BBC Radio Five Live, Grayson said: “There’s a good connection, and I think as a manager, you have to have that connection with supporters, because you’re representing them and how your team plays.

“Leeds is a hard-working city. People are passionate, and we’ve seen through the years when that passion has not always been shown on the pitch, and the supporters have been disconnected with the ownership and maybe the manager.

“But Daniel has certainly got it from day one, and I think it’s been underestimated and underrated in the job that he’s done, one getting promotion, but also when he’s been under pressure, he’s delivered results at the right time.

“And you get a team into the in the Premier League, you’re not a bad manager, are you! You’ve got to have something about you, but then you need those resources to give you that opportunity to stay up…

“And look, he’s been given some decent resources, but not hundreds of millions… I think it’s about £100 million that he spent this year, but he’s spent it wisely with his recruitment team and proved what a capable coach he is.

“And also when he’s had to tweak things and change things, he’s shown that he’s adaptable and he’s not as sort of stubborn as some people would suggest.

“I think some Leeds fans labelled him as that as he never made subs before 65 minutes, and stuck with a 4-2-3-1, but Daniel has sort of proved to people and proved to himself that he’s a real, real top coach.”