Yorkshire Evening Post

Former Leeds United relegation rivals have sealed a big signing just two weeks after sealing survival.

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Leeds United’s former relegation rivals Tottenham Hotspur are signing an international star following his departure from Liverpool after their final day drop escape.

Scotland international left back and captain Andy Robertson is ending nine years with the Reds in departing the club upon his contract expiring this summer, the 32-year-old becoming a free agent ahead of the new 2026-27 campaign.

Liverpool revealed that Robertson would be leaving the club in an announcement in April and Tottenham have now announced a deal to sign the defender on July 1 following the expiration of his contract at Liverpool.

“He is a proven winner at the highest level”

A statement from the club read: “We are delighted to announce the signing of Andy Robertson. A leader on and off the field, the highly decorated Scotland captain will join the Club on July 1 following the expiration of his contract at Liverpool.

Spurs head coach Roberto De Zerbi, said: "Andy is someone I've admired for a number of years and he will bring outstanding technical qualities, experience, leadership and mentality to our team.

"He is a proven winner at the highest level over a long period and is someone who can be a big player for us, both on and off the pitch.

"I can't wait to start working with him and seeing the positive impact he will have on everyone around him.”

Leeds United ultimately sealed a 14th-placed finish on their Premier League return - but where would the Whites have been without VAR?

Leeds were already safe with three games left after Arsenal’s 1-0 win at relegation-bound West Ham but Daniel Farke’s Whites then added more points to their haul through a 1-1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur and 1-0 victory at home to highflying Brighton.

Already safe, Leeds went into the final day holding a chance of finishing 11th but Sunday’s 3-0 defeat at West Ham meant the Whites ended up in 14th place.

West Ham meanwhile needed a win against Leeds but also an Everton victory at Spurs to avoid relegation but a 1-0 win for Spurs kept Roberto De Zerbi’s side safe and sent the Hammers down along with already relegated pair Burnley and Wolves.

Leeds ended up finishing eight points clear of the drop zone on 47 points and only six points behind eighth-placed finishers Brighton who sealed the division’s final European place With qualification for next season’s Europa Conference League.

But how would Leeds have fared and what would the table have looked like without VAR?

With the season now done and dusted, AceOdds have updated their record of the Premier League this season, showing results if VAR had not been in use.

Featuring some big changes, here is the full rundown from top to bottom.

Leeds United survived their first season back in the Premier League with three games to spare - and the bookies have now had their say on where they think the Whites will finish next time around.

Leeds finished the 2025-26 campaign with Sunday’s 3-0 defeat at West Ham, a disappointing ending but in no way taking the gloss of a brilliant first season back in the country’s top flight for Daniel Farke’s Whites.

Unlike West Ham who have now lost their top flight status, Leeds were made safe with three games left after Arsenal’s 1-0 win at the Hammers but Leeds then added more points to their haul through a 1-1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur and 1-0 victory at home to highflying Brighton.

Already safe, Farke’s side went into the final day holding a chance of finishing 11th but the 3-0 defeat meant the Whites ended up in 14th place.

West Ham meanwhile needed a win against Leeds but also an Everton victory at Spurs to avoid relegation but a 1-0 win for Spurs kept Roberto De Zerbi’s side safe and sent the Hammers down along with already relegated pair Burnley and Wolves.

West Ham, Burnley and Wolves will now be replaced by Championship champions Coventry City, runners-up Ipswich Town and play-off winners Hull City in next season’s Premier League for which Arsenal will be defending champions.

As the dust settles from Sunday’s final day, the bookies have now produced their full set of odds for next season’s Premier League and, through those odds, their first predicted final table.

Based on the odds to win the Premier League, here is their first idea of how they think the final table will look.

Leeds United’s final day hosts West Ham must win to stand any chance at all of survival - and the top-flight bookies have delivered a very strong relegation verdict in the season’s final predicted Premier League table.

United’s Premier League survival was secured with three games still remaining after Arsenal’s 1-0 win at West Ham who now quite simply must beat final day visitors Leeds and hope fourth-bottom Tottenham lose at home to Everton.

Because of West Ham’s awful goal difference, they are the only two sets of results that would see the third-bottom Irons survive.

Leeds, though, despite a stack of injuries, will head to the capital on an eight-game unbeaten league run and still having a chance of finishing as high as 11th.

Ahead of Sunday’s final day, the 14th-placed Whites are two points behind Newcastle United, Everton and Fulham in 11th, 12th and 13th respectively and two points ahead of 15th-placed Crystal Palace.

Two of those teams face each other on the final day as Fulham host Newcastle, Palace at home to newly crowned champions Arsenal and Everton going to fourth-bottom Tottenham who know that a point realistically makes them safe.

West Ham would have been realistically already relegated had Tottenham taken a point from Tuesday night’s clash at Chelsea but a 2-1 win for the Blues handed West Ham a late lifeline.

The bookies now have a very strong view on who is going down and here is the season’s last predicted final table from then based on the remaining odds.

Jarrod Bowen’s West Ham side still have a chance of staying up heading into Sunday’s final day Leeds United visit.

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Jarrod Bowen has declared a Leeds United must ahead of West Ham’s potentially season-saving visit of Daniel Farke’s Whites.

Last weekend’s 3-1 defeat at Newcastle United left third-bottom West Ham facing the possibility of being relegated on Tuesday night as fourth-bottom Tottenham Hotspur went to Chelsea.

A Spurs win would have sent West Ham down and even a draw would have realistically relegated the club due to the team’s far inferior goal difference.

Instead, a 2-1 win for the Blues has taken West Ham’s fight for survival to Sunday’s final day on which only a win against Leeds and Tottenham defeat at home to Everton would make the Irons safe.

It all means West Ham’s destiny is very much out of their own hands bhut Bowen says his team must now show “pride and commitment, and what it means to play for this badge” against Leeds in Sunday’s finale.

Speaking to West Ham United’s official website ahead of Tottenham’s defeat to Chelsea, Bowen said :”Obviously, we need things to go our way now.

“You never want to be relying on different things and hoping for luck, but as it stands we still have an opportunity.

“Show pride and commitment, and what it means to play for this badge”

“We have to see how the game goes on Tuesday night, but no matter what, we have to turn up against Leeds next week, in our last home game of the season.

“We have to show pride and commitment, and what it means to play for this badge. The name on the front of the shirt is the most important thing, and we have to put on a performance for the supporters.

“The fans turn up week in, week out to support us. They’ve been brilliant, and we haven’t given them enough this season. We can’t give up in this situation, and whatever happens we’ll be determined to show a response next week.”

Leeds United's final-day trip to West Ham will be of huge significance to the Premier League relegation fight.

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Leeds United’s final-day trip to West Ham could decide Premier League relegation but not quite how many expected earlier this season.

Ever since the 2025/26 fixtures were released in June last year, fans of Leeds and West Ham had a nervous eye on matchweek 38. Daniel Farke’s side would finish their campaign at the London Stadium in a game quickly billed as a potential relegation decider.

As a newly-promoted side, Leeds were widely expected to be mired in relegation trouble right until the final day. Should their trip to West Ham end up a dead-rubber, it was felt, then surely their Championship return had already been sealed.

Leeds will have been safe for a fortnight by Sunday. They’ve taken four points from two games since and will finish the campaign between 15th and 11th. They are now fuelled by the pride of extending an unbeaten run to nine and the financial boost that comes with climbing up the table.

Sunday threatened to be a dead-rubber for West Ham too, following a miserable three-game losing streak in which they defended like a team with no place in the Premier League. The Hammers are still strong favourites to go down but have one final chance to pull off a miracle.

Tottenham Hotspur’s four-game unbeaten run - which included a 1-1 draw at home to Leeds last week - ended on Tuesday night when they lost 2-1 at Chelsea. A point would have virtually guaranteed safety on goal difference but they now go into a final-day home game against Everton two points clear.

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Spurs have the joint-worst home record in the Premier League alongside Burnley, with two wins and six draws yielding just 12 points. Everton are the sixth-best away team. It’s not inconceivable the Toffees go to North London and win. Equally, it would be easy to envisage Leeds getting something at West Ham.

Leeds United role in final-day drama with West Ham need simple

For Nuno Espirito Santo’s side it is simple, they must beat Leeds on Sunday while Tottenham must lose. Any other results would see them down. They are likely to face a Whites side ravaged by injury but one that beat Champions League-chasing Brighton regardless last time out.

Farke can add Anton Stach to his growing absentee list, the midfielder stretchered off with an ankle injury on Sunday. Gabriel Gudmundsson, Jayden Bogle, Pascal Struijk, Ilia Gruev, Facundo Buonanotte and Noah Okafor might all be unavailable.

But Leeds will not be on the beach, as Brighton and relegation candidates Tottenham can both attest. They have shown no sign of slowing down whatsoever, with neither Farke nor club captain Ethan Ampadu allowing professionalism to slip even on this relatively meaningless final day.

Leeds fans will enjoy their stress-free trip and deservedly so. They’ve followed Farke’s side across the country come rain or shine, victory or defeat. They’ve also been on either end of final-day relegation drama, beating Brentford to survive in 2022 before a 4-1 thumping at home to Tottenham 12 months later. This time it won’t matter so much.

With Arsenal wrapping up their Premier League title ahead of schedule, the major final-day story becomes relegation. Leeds were tipped to be part of that story right until the wire. And they are, just not how many expected.

Leeds United took themselves up to 47 points with Sunday’s brilliant 1-0 win at home to highflying visitors Brighton - and data experts have now cast a fresh Whites verdict in their new predicted final Premier League table and points.

Daniel Farke’s Whites went into Sunday’s final home game of the season with their top-flight status having already been secured with three games still remaining after last weekend’s 1-0 win for Arsenal at third-bottom West Ham.

Leeds then took a 1-1 draw from Monday night’s clash at still relegation-battling Tottenham Hotspur but a very different test awaited on Sunday against a highflying Brighton side closing in on a European qualification place.

After chances for both sides and a lot of those for the visitors the contest looked destined to end in a goalless draw until Dominic Calvert-Lewin intercepted Jan Paul Van Hecke’s back pass and rounded keeper Bart Verbruggen before coolly slotting home a 96th-minute winner.

The 1-0 victory has left Leeds in 14th place with one game to go, two points ahead of 15th-placed Crystal Palace and only two points behind the four teams above them in Chelsea, Newcastle United, Everton and Fulham - the Cottagers now directly above Leeds in 14th.

With bottom two clubs Wolves and Burnley already down, the battle to avoid finishing in the division’s final relegation place is between third-bottom West Ham and fourth-bottom Tottenham who would relegated West Ham with a win at Tuesday night’s hosts Chelsea.

West Ham suffered a potentially fatal blow on Sunday in suffering a 3-1 loss at Newcastle which has left them two points behind Spurs with just one game left through next Sunday’s final day hosting of Leeds.

Leeds, though, can very much look up the table instead of down it and here is the final Whites verdict in the Opta supercomputer’s last predicted final table of the season.

Leeds United boss Daniel Farke’s pre-Brighton press conference and key men injury updates.

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Leeds United will take in their final home game of the season against Brighton on Sunday, ahead of which boss Daniel Farke is providing injury updates on key men today.

United’s Premier League survival was secured with three games to play through Arsenal’s 1-0 win at West Ham on Sunday, after which Leeds headed for Monday night’s clash at relegation-battling Tottenham Hotspur knowing they were already safe.

Despite survival already being achieved, Leeds produced an excellent fightback at Spurs as they left with a 1-1 draw, for which key men were missing.

Six days later, United will now face their final home game of the season on Sunday through the visit of European football chasing Brighton in a 3pm kick-off at Elland Road.

Ahead of the game, boss Farke is holding his pre-match press conference this afternoon at 1.30pm from Thorp Arch and we will bring you all of the main news here including the injury updates on key men.

Leeds lost centre-back Pascal Struijk to injury in Monday’s clash at Tottenham for which Jayden Bogle and Facundo Buonanotte were also added to the list of absentees following hamstring injuries, the pair failing to make the matchday squad.

Leeds were already without Gabi Gudmundsson and Noah Okafor whilst Ilia Gruev had already been ruled out for the rest of the season with a meniscus knee injury.

Leeds United will 'roll over for no one' as they continue to play a part in the relegation battle, according to one of Daniel Farke's mainstays.

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The Whites struck a blow on behalf of West Ham United when they fought back from a goal down to level and take a point at Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night. Dominic Calvert-Lewin's penalty cancelled out Mathys Tel's spectacular second half opener and ensured Leeds left the capital with a share of the spoils. And while Leeds, on 44 points, are safe from the drop with two games still to play, Spurs are just two points clear of 18th-placed West Ham. The good news for Tottenham is that West Ham still have to play Leeds, who made it clear on Monday night that they are still willing and able to fight for every point despite the lack of jeopardy. And Joe Rodon insists Leeds will not 'roll over' for anyone.

"I think I've said it number times, this group is really competitive, and we're professionals," said ex-Spurs man Joe Rodon after the 1-1 draw. "I think, as you've seen, we don't roll over for no one. You know what goes on in the training ground. The manager always keeps it competitive. Healthy, competitive. But we're all professionals, we want to win every game. And that's the main thing, that has to be the mindset. And this is us going forward."

Internally in recent weeks at Thorp Arch and Elland Road, eyes have turned towards the teams ahead of Leeds rather than the battle raging beneath them in the table. They are now two points behind Newcastle United ahead of a home game against Brighton and the West Ham trip. And they have momentum. Rodon wants it to continue to the very end.

"We want to push up the table in these last these last few games, because the group, everyone has worked so hard to be in this position, so there's no reason to stop," he said. "We've got two very difficult games coming, but we want to continue this momentum. We don't look that much at [West Ham yet] the next one is Sunday, Brighton are a top team, they're on fire, so go back now, recover, and we'll prepare, get ready to give our fans a great performance for our last home game."

Leeds United were awarded a penalty at Tottenham before seeing claims against them waved away.

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Dermot Gallagher believes Leeds United striker Lukas Nmecha was ‘lucky’ to nick the ball in a challenge with James Maddison - as failing to do so would have resulted in a late penalty.

Leeds’ 1-1 draw at Tottenham on Monday night came with plenty of drama attached as added-time calls for a home penalty were waved away by referee Jarred Gillett. Nmecha stretched for a tackle on Maddison and brought the Spurs midfielder down, but amid huge protests a corner was awarded.

The incident was reviewed by VAR and replays appeared to show Nmecha getting the faintest touch on the ball before making contact with Maddison. The Premier League Match Centre wrote on X that the Leeds striker was deemed to have done exactly that, with the initial decision of corner remaining.

“My first thought when I saw it was ‘blimey, they’ve got a penalty’,” former referee Gallagher told talkSPORT. “You were 13 minutes into stoppage time. When you see the replay, he does just catch the ball, there’s no doubt about that. But it’s one of them, he gets a bit lucky, because if he doesn’t get the ball it’s clearly a penalty.”

VAR had a busy night at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. They reviewed a potential penalty for a foul on Dominic Calvert-Lewin but eventually ruled the Leeds striker to have been fractional offside when played in by Brenden Aaronson.

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There was another delay with Leeds 1-0 down when Gillett finally stopped play for Ethan Ampadu’s head injury to be seen to. The Whites skipper jumped for a header in the Tottenham box and was caught by the boot of Mathys Tel, who was attempting a bicycle kick clearance.

Dermot Gallagher on Leeds United penalty incident ‘surprise’

As Ampadu received treatment, Gillett was recommended to revisit the incident and eventually awarded Leeds a penalty. Calvert-Lewin buried it with confidence to cancel out Tel’s 50th-minute opener and eventually earn his side a point.

“I was surprised [Gillett needed VAR to intervene],” Gallagher said of the penalty. “I often talk about clues and the clue for me was the fact that the Leeds player, Ampadu, was actually jumping.

“That will show you how high the player’s foot was. It hasn’t just caught him on the face. He caught him on the face from a jump. That’s a really high boot.”

Referee Gillett endured a difficult night at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, earning a -1/10 in YEP chief football writer Graham Smyth’s ratings. The many delays, particularly in the second-half, led to a whopping 13 minutes of time being added on.

A dramatic end saw Sean Longstaff come close to winning it, but for Antonin Kinsky’s world-class save, before the Tottenham penalty claims and subsequent review. “That’s the biggest one I’ve seen for a long, long time,” Gallagher added of that added-time period. “And they ended up playing 15 as well.”