Ex-Leeds United man 'snubs' Newcastle United as early promotion race prediction made

The transfer window is up and running and deals are starting to go through as clubs look to get their business done early. Leeds United haven't added to their squad just yet but the Whites are expected to bring in new faces this summer in order to bolster Daniel Farke's squad.

Leeds are starting to field interest in a number of their key players, though, with Crysencio Summerville and Archie Gray being consistently linked away, while it seems Jack Harrison and Marc Roca are close to sealing moves, too. As such, if nothing else the next few months promise to intrigue as the Whites look to build a squad capable of winning promotion back to the Premier League at the second time of asking.

As the window begins to gather pace, we round-up some of the latest Leeds United news.

Ex-Leeds man ‘snubs’ Newcastle

Raphinha has reportedly made it clear that he has no interest in joining Premier League side Newcastle United this summer. The former Leeds United man has been tipped to leave Barcelona this summer with the Spanish outfit needing to raise funds in order to add to their squad.

The Brazilian was a regular under Xavi last season but he has received criticism for his lack of consistency and is said to be one of the players Barcelona deem to be worth selling. Interest has come from Saudi Arabia and the Premier League, but it seems he won't be joining Newcastle, with reports suggesting he would prefer to move elsewhere.

Upson makes promotion prediction

Matthew Upson expects to see Luton Town challenging the likes of Leeds and Burnley for promotion this season. The Hatters slipped out of the Premier League last month after struggling for traction for much of their first season back in the top flight.

Consequently, the club look set to lose a number of key men this summer, with Ross Barkley set to seal a move to Aston Villa, while Alfie Doughty and Elijah Adebayo are amongst those who have been linked away. Upson, though, believes Luton will have enough about them to compete at the top end of the division.

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"Rob Edwards is a top coach and, after the year in the Premier League, will have gained so much from that experience that he can return to the Championship and lead Luton Town to a big season and be amongst the teams challenging for automatic promotion," Upson said.

"Losing Barkley will be a big miss, but I believe Luton can invest the squad in this position to be competitive and with the quality in the striker positions, can score enough goals to be right in the mix.

"Stability is key and Luton Town had a great experience in the Premier League and Edwards got a lot of praise for his managerial style and can show his potential even further, by guiding Luton Town to a strong season in the Championship and pushing hard for promotion back to the Premier League.

"You can see he gets a lot out of his players, so losing him would have been a massive blow to the club, so it's great he is staying."