Tarik Muharemović was the kind of player a newly promoted side was not supposed to reach. The 23-year-old centre-back had Juventus and Inter tracking him in the summer. He signed for Leeds.
Three months and seven Premier League games on, the explanation is starting to look like a recruitment plan honoured rather than oversold. Muharemović flicked on the delivery Dominic Calvert-Lewin finished for Leeds’s second-half equaliser in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Elland Road. The week before, Leeds had led at the Emirates through James Justin before Riccardo Calafiori and Bruno Guimarães turned the game and Arsenal won 2-1.
Two matches, two Champions League opponents. Muharemović framed it as a measure of where his new club now sits.
“I think it is the second week in a row that we go against a Champions League side and are disappointed to not get all the three points,” he said after the Manchester United draw.
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“We just want to show everyone who we are and where we belong.”
Signed over Juventus and Inter
Leeds paid Sassuolo up to £34m for Muharemović in July. The deal briefly made him the club’s record signing before James Trafford arrived from Manchester City weeks later for £40m plus £5m in add-ons.
The pitch to Muharemović was blunt: top-flight football, a defined plan, and the chance to be central to it.
“I got all the names of the clubs, and I felt Leeds was the best for me. I knew how much they wanted me,” he said in August, adding Inter had been “at the table” alongside the Juventus interest.
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He has started every Premier League match this season. Leeds sit seventh with 10 points, three above Manchester United.
Farke takes it as ‘a compliment’
Daniel Farke, whose agreement in principle on a contract to 2029 was reported earlier this month, read Sunday’s result through the lens of expectation.
“We took it as a compliment that we have done many things right,” Farke said, with Leeds considered pre-match favourites against a Champions League side.
His line on where Leeds sit has stayed cautious.
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“It’s still early days, only six games. After 36, it’s a bit more important,” he said ahead of the Manchester United match. “We’re not too far away from the glory days, but let’s focus on the here and now.”
Muharemović has yet to miss a Premier League minute since joining.
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