Phil Hay has revealed that there's no sign of talks regarding an extended deal for Gaetano Berardi.

The defender has played just four minutes on the Championship since mid-December after falling out of favour under Marcelo Bielsa.

The 31-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season, and speaking about Bielsa's plans for the squad over the summer, The Athletic writer expressed his belief that the experienced centre-back could be one of the few players to move on.

Asked about who will stay if the club get promoted, Hay told The Athletic: "My gut feeling is that Bielsa will find seats on the bandwagon for a lot of these players should Leeds go up. Look how heavily contracted the squad is.

"There is literally only Gaetano Berardi amongst the senior crop whose contract expires this summer (with no sign of talks about an extension at this stage)."

How many of Leeds United's number 10s can you remember?

 

The verdict

It does appear that the writing is on the wall for Gaetano Berardi.

The defender is way down the pecking order at Elland Road after only featuring in the FA Cup for Leeds United in 2020 so far.

If the Whites do secure promotion it will be a big test for many of the squad as they look to show that they're capable of playing at a higher level, but for Berardi it seems that it'll be a step too far.

A free agent in the summer, all of the signs are hinting that his long-term future could be away from Elland Road.