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Leeds United promoted to the Premier League after 16 years

Leeds United players huggingImage source, Getty Images

Leeds United have been promoted to the Premier League.

It has been 16 years since they last competed at the top level of football.

The Yorkshire side now have enough points to go up automatically at the end of the season, thanks to West Brom's 2-1 defeat at Huddersfield Town on Friday.

Leeds will be crowned champions if Brentford do not beat Stoke on Saturday or the Whites then take a point from Sunday's visit to Derby County.

Image source, Getty Images
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Captain Liam Cooper said his team have made sacrifices to get back in the Premier League

"We deserve it"

Captain Liam Cooper said promotion took Leeds back to "where we've always belonged".

"To be part of this team and to lead this team to promotion back to where we know we've always belonged is unbelievable.

"We deserve it - we've been the best team all season on a consistent level and we've got the job done. We set out to get promoted and now we want to go and be champions and lift that trophy." He added.

How have they done it?

Manager Argentine Marcelo Bielsa is being hailed as one of the main reasons for the team's success this season.

It is his second season in charge after finishing third in the Championship in 2018-19.

He chose to remain with the club after failing to get promoted last season - the Whites have had 15 other managers since their relegation from the Premier League.

Bielsa has changed the way Leeds play and other teams have been unable to keep up.

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Manager Argentine Marcelo Bielsa has been with the club for two seasons

One of his top players this season has been midfielder Kalvin Phillips.

The 24-year-old said: "It's crazy… When the manager first came in I never thought I would be in this position two years down the line.

"The manager and the coaching staff are a massive part of that. He's the best manager in the world. There's no manager I would rather be under than Marcelo Bielsa right now.

"At an age when I'm trying to develop, he's the perfect manager to have. The Premier League is the best league in the world and, after 16 years, we're back in there."