Leeds United fans and players celebrate club’s promotion to Premier League at Elland Road

Leeds United’s promotion to the Premier League was confirmed on Friday evening and the fans were understandably delighted.

It has been a long 16-year wait for the supporters since their relegation from the top flight in 2004.

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Leeds United fans celebrate their promotion

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Leeds players were inside Elland Road when their promotion was confirmed and greeted fans from the window

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Kalvin Phillips celebrates with the Leeds fans

Marcelo Bielsa’s side came agonisingly close last season when they were beaten by Derby in the Championship play-offs.

Their long awaited return was made a reality when West Brom were beaten by Huddersfield and the promotion was sealed.

Fans gathered outside Elland Road to celebrate while the players could also be seen inside the ground enjoying their newfound Premier League status.

Former player Vinnie Jones even tweeted a video showing flares going off outside the stadium.

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Fans left off flares as they marked their return to the top-flight of England football

Leeds United are once again a Premier League club

Popular manager Bielsa was also seen being congratulated by supporters and giving elbow bumps as he left for Elland Road.

The club have spent 13 seasons in the Championship and three in League One after dropping into the third tier for the first time in their history in 2007.

Leeds went into administration in 2007 under Ken Bates and fared little better under subsequent owners GFH Capital before the arrival of controversial Italian Massimo Cellino.

During Cellino’s chaotic three-year ownership Leeds had seven different managers, but current owner Andrea Radrizzani bought a 50 per cent stake in Leeds in January 2017 to signal the dawning of a new era.

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Radrizzani purchased the remaining 50 per cent from Cellino the following May and Leeds made a bold statement of intent by appointing Bielsa in the summer of 2018.

It was an expensive gamble, but Bielsa proved an instant hit, transforming the same squad he inherited into genuine promotion challengers in his first season.

That ended in disappointment when Leeds fell short in the play-offs, but Bielsa and his players have bounced back.