Leeds United finished the summer window with two more recruits, but questions will be posed whether it is enough.
With less than a week left in the transfer window and tensions rising among a fanbase that had seen over £150 million in talent leave the club during a turbulent summer, Leeds United manager Daniel Farke attempted to soothe the waters.
Farke emphasized the necessity for only four acquisitions with plenty of time remaining, including fresh wide threats, a midfield addition, and defensive support at full-back. It may have taken until 10:30 p.m. on transfer deadline day to keep Leeds fans worried (what else would we expect), but Farke had his men when the transfer window officially closed.
Leeds’ board, which included Largie Ramazani, Manor Solomon, Ao Tanaka, and Isaac Schmidt, had completed Farke’s request. We won’t know the full extent of the impact until the next transfer window, but there’s no denying that many fans will be questioning the business done as they head to today’s game. All transfer transaction is a chance, but some are riskier than others. 49ers Enterprises appears to be playing a high-stakes game by putting up little money to bet with.
And so, as the debrief on summer activity begins and concerns about whether it was a good or bad window for Leeds begin, one essential question that should be answered is this. Does Farke believe the club has done enough for him to lead this side to a promotion this season?
Hopefully, he’ll respond to that question later today after the match against Hull City, but you’d expect him to say yes since Leeds’ four additions in the last week have ticked all of the right boxes. Farke like to operate with a small squad that provides adequate coverage. That is what he has been given. The level of quality at his disposal will be determined later in the year, once the manager has had time to create his new team.
What is clear right now and can be judged is the approach of 49ers Enterprises, which has experienced a large increase in revenue from player sales this summer but has not spent with the significance that you would expect from a league title contender.
There were conversations about adding Gustavo Hamer, who would have been the only genuine statement signing at the end of the summer window, and Roland Sallai would have been welcomed on a similar level, but how hard Leeds pushed for both moves will be questioned. The crucial point is that none of this matters unless results are produced, and there’s no doubt Farke has the talent to accomplish it if he’s lucky with injuries.
Win against Hull to head into the international break in good spirits, then win when they return to action on September 14 against promotion contenders Burnley, and what happened over the summer will disappear swiftly. It is what happens now between those white lines that matters.
