Is Daniel Farke’s position as Leeds United manager now untenable?

Newly-promoted Leeds United are currently languishing in the relegation zone in the Premier League table, after losing 2-1 by Aston Villa against the familiar backdrop of Elland Road on Sunday.

Daniel Farke’s side have accumulated on average less than one point per match after 12 games of the 2025/26 PL campaign (W3, D2, L7 – only fellow PL new boys Burnley and bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton Wanderers have lost more matches). Concerningly, for under-pressure Farke, who has faced criticism for weeks now, has seen his side lose five of their last six matches (W1) which has led to many to think that his P45 is being readied by the upper Elland Road hierarchy.

So, with a deeper look into his tenure and the results, is Farke’s time at Elland Road about to come to an end?

The main reasons why Daniel Farke’s Leeds are in free fall

Farke’s inability to manage a new group of players

One excuse Farke will not have is that he didn’t have the backing of the board over the summer transfer window, which saw the cheque book repeatedly opened to the value of just over £100 million to add that much-needed experience and depth to the German manager’s squad following their automatic promotion as 2024/25 Championship winners.

​The most expensive of Leeds’ 10 new arrivals was defensive midfielder Anton Stach, who cost just over £17.5m from Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim. Next in the Elland Road expenditure list was adding some firepower in the final third, with the marquee signing of the highly-rated Noah Okafor from AC Milan, at a cost of just under £17m. Further defensive reinforcements were also added in the form of centre-back Jaka Bijol for close to £16m, like Okafor, from the shores of Serie A, but Udinese.

​Leeds also brought in Lucas Perri (£14.1m), Sean Longstaff (£12.1m), Gabriel Gudmundsson (£10.2m), James Justin (£8.2m), Sebastiaan Bornauw (£5.3m) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha on free transfers. It’s worthwhile mentioning a couple of departments as well, with Rasmus Kristensen (Eintracht Frankfurt), Sam Greenwood (Pogoń Szczecin) and Junior Firpo (Real Betis) just some of the names to move onto pastures new.

Season ticket holders at Elland Road and everyone else in attendance certainly will not let Farke try and say that the lack of consistency and accompanying form is down to a lack of backing from the board. Given the fact, a completely new 4-4-3 formation (to replicate Leeds’ customary set-up) has been brought into the club throughout the summer.

Underperforming in the goals’ department

A lack of goals must also be a concern to Farke, with Leeds only firing into the back of the net on 10 occasions, while conceding double that amount (20) at the opposite end of the pitch. The writing is firmly graffitied on the wall when centre-back Joe Rodon is currently the club’s top-scorer with two goals this season, alongside Okafor and Nmecha, despite the former being a defender.

Further evidence is that new signing Calvert-Lewin has only scored once this season and fellow forward Joël Piroe (no goals), who could be a January transfer target for Fulham, maybe in an uncustomary swap-deal with Marco Silva, with Leeds interested in bringing the 48-year-old manager to Elland Road.

Is Farke really good enough to manage in the Premier League?

Appointed manager of the then-Championship club Leeds on 4th July 2023, replacing Sam Allardyce on a four-year contract after their relegation from the top flight, his first campaign ended in exasperation, with Leeds missing out on automatic promotion by six points before being beaten 1-0 by Southampton in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium.

However, it was second time lucky for Farke and Leeds the following season, as they celebrated on an open-top bus parade around the city centre after beating Burnley on goal difference to lift the 2025/26 Championship trophy.

​Farke had a previously forgettable experience of not dealing with the fast-paced demands of the Premier League while he was in charge of Norwich City throughout the 2019/20 campaign. Farke oversaw a demoralising campaign as the Canaries were locked back into their cage, suffering an instant return to the Championship after finishing bottom of the table with 21 points from 38 matches; losing a divisional-high 27 (W5, D6).

However, the Carrow Road hierarchy’s faith in keeping him in the dugout paid dividends as he helped Norwich secure an immediate return to the top flight after winning the 2020/21 Championship campaign. Farke was rewarded with his own piece of silverware after being named the Championship Manager of the Season.

​Nevertheless, the German’s ongoing dream soon turned into a nightmare as he was sacked on November 6th 2021, despite guiding Norwich to their first win of the 2021/22 campaign, with Dean Smith hired as the club’s new manager. Following managerial spells in Russia and Germany, with Krasnodar and Borussia Mönchengladbach (guiding the latter to a top-half Bundesliga finish in 2022/23), Farke returned to the scene of English football with Leeds.

By looking at his history in the Premier League, it doesn’t paint a promising picture that he is the man to keep Leeds in the top flight.

Who could replace Farke as the next Leeds manager?

If Farke were to lose his job at Leeds, there are plenty of contenders to replace him. Former Union Berlin and Mainz manager Bo Svensson is the bookies’ favourite to take over, with another former Bundesliga boss, Marco Rose, who was most recently in charge of RB Leipzig, is also tipped to be in the running.

The recent shocking resignation of Brendan Rodgers means the ex-Celtic boss could also see him return to the Premier League and take over from Farke should he be sacked. Other names primed for discussion are Carlos Corberán, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and former England manager Gareth Southgate.

Conclusion

​Leeds’ next four fixtures certainly will not inspire Farke’s confidence, as the Whites face a hat-trick of heavyweight clashes against former champions Manchester City and Chelsea, before a potentially must-win clash against defending champions Liverpool. If Farke manages to pull off a shock or two in those matches, Leeds’ proverbial six-pointer against Brentford on 14th December could be absolutely massive in terms of determining if he is still in attendance in the Elland Road dugout or looking for a new job.

​Leeds’ defeat to Villa could have been the straw that broke the camel’s back in the Peacocks’ board room. So, if results don’t go, realistically, their intended way in the coming weeks, Leeds might be ultimately searching for a new manager sooner than later.
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