As the nascent Premier League table takes shape, the sight of Leeds United in third place feels like a throwback to the turn of the century, when they secured five top-five finishes on the bounce. Monday's 4-1 home win over Newcastle United means Daniel Farke's unbeaten side have made their best start to a top-flight season since 2001-02 under David O'Leary. In truth, Leeds, with eight points from four games, have been playing well for some time, and it can all be traced back to a bold change of formation by Farke almost nine months ago.
The German switched from a back four to a back three at half-time against Manchester City on 29 November, a game in which his team battled back from 2-0 down at the break to level things at 2-2 before conceding in stoppage time at Etihad Stadium. Starting with the subsequent home win over Chelsea on 3 December, Leeds have lost only five of their past 29 league games, results which would place them fifth in the hypothetical league table for that timeframe. So how have they done it?
And can they push for European football for the first time in 24 years? In the 2025 summer transfer window Farke and the club's new sporting director Adam Underwood made a point of signing tall players who could "add a special physicality" to the squad they were building for the robust demands of the English top flight. Of the 10 permanent arrivals, eight – Jaka Bijol, Sebastiaan Bornauw, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, James Justin, Lukas Nmecha, Noah Okafor, Lucas Perri and Anton Stach – stand more than 6ft tall.
Speaking in July 2025, Farke said: "I wouldn't say it's coincidence that they are all tall players but, of course, if you join the Premier League and you have one of the smallest groups, you expect that probably there is more pressure on you than there was in the Championship. You have to make sure that you're also good in defending crosses." This summer, after losing centre-back Pascal Struijk to Brighton, Farke moved for two World Cup players - Bosnia-Herzegovina's Tarik Muharemovic and Switzerland's Nico Elvedi - to bolster his defence. Despite an error leading to Bazoumana Toure's late consolation goal for Newcastle, Muharemovic has looked particularly impressive, playing every league minute in front of 6ft 5in England international James Trafford, who became the most expensive British goalkeeper in history for the second time when he joined for an initial £40m from City.
Throw in Harry Wilson, one of the league's standout players last season, who joined on a free transfer from Fulham, and Leeds' latest signings look to be particularly shrewd. Leeds lost eight of their first 13 league games in 2025-26, leaving them in 18th position and facing the very real prospect of relegation. Reports at the time suggested Farke, whose side had pipped Burnley to the Championship title the previous season, was in real danger of losing his job.
While the rejig clearly had its intended effect on the Leeds defence – among the ever-present clubs in the division, only champions Arsenal, City and Nottingham Forest have conceded fewer goals since the switch – it has helped in other areas too. The most notable beneficiary has been Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Since last December only Erling Haaland, Ollie Watkins and Joao Pedro have score more top-flight goals than Calvert-Lewin's 14.
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