Gaetano Berardi remains the only permanent Leeds United player set to see his contract at Elland Road expire in the summer.

Leeds moved to tie a number of other first-team players down to new terms earlier in the season, but Berardi is just a couple of months away from becoming a free agent.

The EFL postponement following the outbreak of Covid-19 has complicated things, with Leeds holding back on contract talks, according to Football Insider.

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Berardi is free to sign a pre-contract agreement with European clubs, leaving Leeds running a risk if they want to eventually retain the 31-year-old.

With that in mind, we take a look at THREE reasons why the hesitation at Elland Road is justified…

Is Berardi Premier League quality?

 

Leeds may well be waiting until the end of the season to discover which division they are playing in next season.

Berardi is a solid back-up in the Championship, but is he actually good enough for the Premier League?

Leeds might need better to re-establish themselves in the top-flight, whether that’s in the starting line-up or as a reserve.

Berardi’s desire to stay

 

Whilst the Swiss defender might be open to the idea of staying at Elland Road, would that really be the case if his game time was limited even further.

Moving back into Europe, or elsewhere in the Championship, Berardi could extend his career at a decent level and get more minutes under his belt.

All parties need time to weigh things up.

No need for other distractions

 

Ultimately, Leeds are nine games away from the Premier League and on the verge of doing something really special.

The club does not need any distractions, whether that’s Berardi’s future or even the future of someone like Kalvin Phillips.

Full focus needs to be on winning enough of the remaining nine games to secure automatic promotion.

The summer, when the season is over, is the time for crunch talks.

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