Last season: Championship winners
Someone has got to buck the growing trend of ‘three up, three straight back down’ from the Championship’s promoted sides, so I am going to say Leeds United will break that glass ceiling.
A club of huge stature, Elland Road will be a bearpit this season and will be a difficult environment for any visiting side. This will hold the key to their survival hopes.
Daniel Farke has a new keeper in Lyon’s Lucas Perri – signed for £15.6m. It may finally be the time Illan Meslier pays the price for too many high-profile errors.
In Dominic Calvert-Lewin – close to signing on a free transfer after leaving Everton – Leeds are acquiring a striker who has proven Premier League pedigree but has been troubled by long injury absences in recent years.
If he can stay fit, Leeds will have a very valuable asset.
Sean Longstaff provides experience and a competitive edge after arriving from Newcastle United, while additions elsewhere have come in the shape of left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson from Lille, centre-back Jaka Bijol from Udinese, and centre-back Sebastiaan Bornauw and forward Lukas Nmecha from Wolfsburg.
It will be tough – but Elland Road may just sway it.
