Leeds United will be playing Premier League football next season after they won the 2024/25 Championship title with an extraordinary 100-point haul.
The Whites, who secured the crown with a stoppage-time winner against Plymouth Argyle on the final day, will now have to think about how the squad will shape up ahead of a campaign in the top-flight.
Daniel Farke and his staff need to decide who will and who will not be up to the task of stepping up to the Premier League, and Isaac Schmidt is one player whose future is up for debate.
Why Isaac Schmidt may not be deemed ready for the Premier League
Leeds swooped to sign the Swiss full-back from St. Gallen at the end of the summer transfer window last year to bolster their options in the full-back positions.
Unfortunately, though, Schmidt has been unable to force a way into the side over Jayden Bogle at right-back or Junior Firpo at left-back, and did not start a single match in the Championship this season.
The 25-year-old defender played 71 minutes over 12 substitute appearances in the second tier, and was an unused substitute on 22 occasions.
Leeds were recently linked with an interest in Bournemouth right-back Max Aarons, whom he worked with at Norwich City, and that could mean that the club are looking to improve on Schmidt, which could be bad news for his future at Elland Road.
There is another star, however, who played even fewer minutes than the Swiss defender in the Championship for the Whites, and they must never play at Elland Road again.
Why Leeds should release Josuha Guilavogui
Josuha Guilavogui was brought to West Yorkshire as a free agent in October 2024 after injuries to Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev left Farke particularly light in the middle of the park.
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The former France international, who previously played for Atletico Madrid, Mainz, and Wolfsburg, provided an experienced presence on and off the pitch throughout the season, but was rarely used on the pitch.
James Debayo
1
0
Charlie Crew
4
0
Harry Gray
4
0
Joe Gelhardt
9
0
Sam Chambers
16
0
Josuha Guilavogui
58
0
Isaac Schmidt
71
0
Georginio Rutter
90
1
Patrick Bamford
235
0
Max Wober
332
2
As you can see in the table above, only five players played fewer minutes in the league, and they are all academy graduates, rather than nailed-on first-team players, which shows that he was not viewed as a frontline option for the team.
Guilavogui did not start any of his 16 appearances in the Championship, playing even fewer minutes than Schmidt, and should now be released ahead of promotion to the Premier League.
His contract is up this summer, and all parties should shake hands and part ways. He came in and did a job for the team when called upon off the bench as an emergency option, but his lack of minutes in the second tier do not suggest that the midfielder is likely to be a good enough option in the top-flight.
Therefore, Leeds should ruthlessly part ways with the 34-year-old veteran this summer and look to replace him with a player who can fulfill his role effectively at Premier League level.
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