iam Cooper, Jamie Shackleton and Cody Drameh are still yet to confirm if they’ll be staying at Leeds United after their contracts expired.
LeedsLive reported on 2 July that while 11 players have already confirmed their Elland Road exits so far this summer, the trio still have question marks over where their respective futures lie.
Drameh is the most heavily expected player to depart having spent last season out on loan at relegated Birmingham, with the Whites offering him a new contract seemingly only to ensure a compensation fee due to the right-back being younger than 24-years-old.
Shackleton and Cooper’s futures, however, are less clear, particularly after the club confirmed they were “in talks” with the pair over new deals when United released their 2024/25 retained list on 7 June.
Cooper, Drameh and Shackleton all set to become free agents
While the Whites’ out-of-contract trio may all have been offered fresh terms to stay put at Elland Road this summer, the time appears right for the club to let Cooper, Drameh and Shackleton go.
All three have hardly had a look-in over the past 12 months, and with United looking to go one better than the Championship play-offs next season, they need to look forward rather than back [Beren Cross, 27 June].
The club’s long-time captain even before the reign of Marcelo Bielsa, Cooper saw his minutes fall off a cliff last season, making just 15 Championship appearances after 18 in the Premier League the year prior.
Drameh’s departure seems much more straight-forward than Cooper’s having already been shipped off to Birmingham after just one mistake-laden performance against Ipswich early in the campaign [Beren Cross, 14 June].
Shackleton looked to be a player certain to establish himself in the starting XI after bursting onto the scene under Bielsa, but has never been able to nail down a consistent run in the team over five seasons.
While Shackleton is reportedly in talks over a free transfer to recently-relegated Sheffield United, a deal is yet to be confirmed [The Star, 27 June].
If and when this move gets the green light, it should signal the beginning of all three players finding pastures new.
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