Leeds United are sitting inside the top three during their first Championship season in over three years, and are well in the race for automatic promotion under Daniel Farke.However, despite their battle with Leicester City and Ipswich Town in becoming one of two sides to gain automatic promotion, plans will be well underway for next season and Leeds have decisions to make on many first-team members between now and June.The club were extremely active in the summer market, and did well in January to move on some of their other fringe players who were hardly featuring, be that on loan or permanently, which will have helped trim the wage bill further.No matter which league they end up in, the Whites could well end up bidding farewell to a variety of players come the end of the campaign, and whilst Leeds have been able to maintain some key players this summer, many of their first-team squad are likely to move on next summer instead, including some experienced heads who helped the club gain promotion, and win the league, three years ago under Marcelo Bielsa.One player departure has already been confirmed, with Robin Koch agreeing a pre-contract deal with his current loan club, Eintracht Frankfurt, ahead of the summer. Here, we have decided to take a look at all of the other Leeds players who are out of contract this summer, who will be joining the German unless they agree fresh terms at Elland Road.Sam ByramThe club will be saying farewell to plenty of full-backs as it stands, and one who only recently returned to West Yorkshire in the summer on an initial one-year deal from Norwich City is Byram. He has surpassed the expectations of many and been a consistent and reliable performer at right or left-back.The jury remains out due to a poor injury record at this stage, but if Byram can stay fit enough, then he has previously proved an impressive operator at this level and could well receive an extension if he continues on his current trajectory, irrespective of which league Leeds are in next year.Liam CooperThere may be somewhat of a changing of the guard for Leeds currently happening, and Whites captain Cooper could well leave after 10 years of service. Some leadership figures with experience and know-how ought to be retained and one could be the 32-year-old, but it appears unlikely at this stage.He is not getting any younger, but centre-back depth is not a position of real strength and his experience is something to weigh up for the dressing room. His place in the pecking order has dropped, though, with fellow left-sided centre-back Pascal Struijk taking over the position and captaincy this season, whilst Ethan Ampadu – a holding midfield player – has also been preferred a left-sided centre-back.Stuart DallasIt is uncertain whether Dallas will be offered fresh terms beyond next summer. Of course, he is a fan favourite at Elland Road and succumbed to a horrific femoral fracture all the way back in April 2022 against Manchester City and is yet to return to action since.Now, aged almost 33, it is difficult to say that everything stacks up in Dallas’ favour regarding renewal as things stand, and many Leeds fans will be hoping that is subject to change with a full recovery; but it appears more unlikely than likely at the present moment, especially with his return not believed to be imminent.Cody DramehThe chances of Cody Drameh agreeing fresh terms at Elland Road are slim-to-none. For one reason or another, the young right-back has often cut a peripheral figure and has failed to ever ignite the same performances for Leeds as he had done while on loan with Cardiff City and Luton Town.Drameh was brought on and then brought off in the space of 21 minutes during a 4-3 win at Ipswich Town and then headed out on his third loan spell, this time to Birmingham City. Make no mistake about it, that was his last appearance for Leeds and he will be leaving in the summer.Luke AylingAnother long-serving player is the right-back. He is also well into his 30s, but unlike Dallas and Cooper, he has had a cleaner bill of health and had been involved in the early parts of the season, before his game time diminished and Ayling moved to Middlesbrough on loan.A Leeds player since 2016, but Ayling’s days as a Leeds player are effectively over, with the club opting for other options – such as Byram, Connor Roberts, and a 17-year-old midfielder in Archie Gray – for the remainder of the season after the reliability and consistency of his performances dwindled by the game.Ian PovedaPoveda is another who has failed to rip up any trees on loan with Blackburn Rovers and then Blackpool in the Championship, and been very much on the fringes of the first-team this season as well.Like with Ayling and Drameh – his career at Elland Road is all-but finished, with the diminutive winger heading to Sheffield Wednesday on loan and realistically needing to leave to gain regular first-team football elsewhere at this stage of his career.Jamie ShackletonShackleton’s Leeds future had also appeared up for debate going into the season, but he has forced his way into Farke’s thinking and now stands every chance of earning a new deal next year after some impressive, energetic early-season displays in a variety of roles.However, the utility man has since struggled with fitness and seen his game time heavily reduce in recent months, despite his exploits in the beginning of the campaign. The 24-year-old can operate at right-back, left-back, right-midfield, and central-midfield and that versatility could be what serves him well for getting another short-term deal with his boyhood club.Lewis BateNot granting Bate a loan in the summer was somewhat of a mistake, highlighting that it was always likely that he would be inclined to move on and play first-team football rather than put pen to paper on fresh terms.The former Chelsea prospect spent last season on loan in the third tier with Oxford United and impressed by all accounts, and has now moved to MK Dons on loan, which effectively has ended his career with Leeds, much like Ayling and Poveda.
