Fans reacts as legend Ian Holloway makes shocking Leeds United promotion prediction

Ian Holloway believes that Daniel Farke can still deliver promotion to the Premier League for Leeds United.

The German oversaw a third place finish in his first season in charge of the Whites last year.

A 1-0 loss to Southampton in the play-off final condemned the Yorkshire outfit to another campaign in the Championship

Leeds have since lost key players like Crysencio Summerville, Archie Gray and Glen Kamara, with the trio all being sold this summer.

The club will be aiming for a top two finish in the table despite their departures, but will face stiff competition in the battle for automatic promotion.

Ian Holloway makes Leeds United promotion prediction

Holloway has sympathised with Leeds after they narrowly missed out on promotion last year.

However, he has claimed that Farke still has what it takes to guide the club to promotion this season, despite losing key players to the first team squad.

“I felt for them,” said Holloway, via Talksport.

“They kept as many of their good players as they could.

“I wouldn’t want their wage bill, to be honest, Daniel Farke is great, and he could still get them up.”

Leeds will be targeting a top two spot, having been denied by Leicester City and Ipswich Town last season.

The gap to the top two was only six points, with a final day defeat to Southampton ending their hopes of overcoming the Tractor Boys.

The Saints then earned a 1-0 victory over the Yorkshire outfit at Wembley Stadium to seal an immediate return to the top flight at their expense.

The summer transfer window has provided the club a chance to build a team capable of fighting for automatic promotion.

But the departures of Summerville, Gray and Kamara will be felt, as the trio proved invaluable to Farke’s side in the last term.

Leeds United’s 2024 summer signings

Leeds have added to their first team squad as well this summer, bringing in fresh faces to boost their promotion chances.

Joe Rodon completed a permanent move to Elland Road following his successful loan spell with the club, arriving for £10 million according to The Yorkshire Post.

Jayden Bogle has also arrived on a permanent basis, joining from Sheffield United, with Alex Cairns signing too.

Joe Rothwell is another summer signing at Leeds, but the Bournemouth midfielder has only joined on loan for the campaign ahead.

Any further signings will need to be completed before 30 August, when the market shuts for the remainder of the calendar year.

Leeds will be in promotion race even without big hitters

Losing Summerville, Gray and Kamara is a huge blow to Leeds, but they should still be one of the front-runners for a top two spot.

If they can invest the money received from West Ham for the Dutchman well then they can find a replacement that will maintain the team’s strong attacking threat, even if finding someone of Summerville’s exact quality will be very tough.

The Championship will be strong this year, but perhaps not as strong as 12 months ago when Leicester and Southampton were both in the mix, as well as a rising Ipswich.

This will be a make or break year for Farke at Leeds, as failure to go up is very likely to result in him losing his position at Elland Road.