A team in form - how Farke has turned Leeds around
September 15, 2026 16:34
Leeds sit third in the early Premier League table after a 4-1 home victory over Newcastle, a run that gives Daniel Farke’s side their best top-flight start since the 2001-02 season under David O’Leary. The current unbeaten sequence and climb up the table trace back to a tactical switch Farke made at half-time in the 29 November game against Manchester City, moving from a back four to a back three.
That change coincided with a sustained improvement: from the 3 December home win over Chelsea onward, Leeds have lost only five of 29 league matches, a run that would place them fifth in a hypothetical table for that period. Recent transfer activity—notably a summer 2025 recruitment drive prioritising size and defensive reinforcement—has also been highlighted as a key factor in the turnaround.
KEY CONTEXT
- Farke was appointed Leeds United manager in 2023.
- In the 2025 summer window Leeds signed 10 permanent players, eight of whom (Jaka Bijol, Sebastiaan Bornauw, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, James Justin, Lukas Nmecha, Noah Okafor, Lucas Perri and Anton Stach) are over 6ft, a deliberate move the manager linked to coping with Premier League physical demands.
- After losing Pascal Struijk to Brighton, Leeds added World Cup players Tarik Muharemovic (Bosnia-Herzegovina) and Nico Elvedi (Switzerland) to strengthen the back line.
- Goalkeeper James Trafford joined from Manchester City for an initial £40m and, in doing so, became the most expensive British goalkeeper in history for the second time.
- Leeds had struggled earlier in 2025–26, losing eight of their first 13 league games and sitting 18th, a period when reports suggested Farke’s job was under threat.
WHY IT MATTERS
The tactical switch to a three-at-the-back system has delivered measurable defensive gains: among clubs ever-present in the division, only Arsenal, Manchester City and Nottingham Forest have conceded fewer goals since that change. The formation shift has also reshaped Leeds’ attacking output—Dominic Calvert-Lewin has flourished with a genuine striking partner, scoring 14 top-flight goals since last December, a total bettered only by Erling Haaland, Ollie Watkins and Joao Pedro in that span. Improved recruitment—both in physical profile and experience—appears to have addressed prior vulnerabilities that left Leeds in a relegation battle earlier in the season.