When the Whites swooped for the excellent attacker, they went all out financially.
Leeds United are now competing for promotion to the Premier League for the first time after being relegated last summer.
If the Whites win promotion back to the top flight, they may need to spend money to reinforce their team, and they have already been linked with a move for £25 million-rated Celtic player Matt O’Riley.
When they were last in the Premier League, the club swooped to recruit Georginio Rutter from German side Hoffenheim for a club record £35.5 million in January 2023, but he was unable to assist the squad avoid relegation.
In the summer of 1993, the club shattered their top-flight transfer record by signing striker Brian Deane, and if you compensate for football fee inflation, that transaction was worth more than the one that brought Rutter to Elland Road.
How much will Leeds’ contract to sign Brian Deane be worth in 2024?
According to Totally Money, Leeds paid £3.9 million to recruit Sheffield United’s centre-forward ahead of the 1993/94 Premier League season.
Adjusting for the aforementioned inflation in football transfer costs throughout the years, the £3.9 million would be worth a whopping £60.6 million in 2024.
The Whites signed the number nine, who was born and raised in Leeds, from the Blades after he scored 12 or more goals in each of his previous three top-flight seasons.
Deane scored 12 and 13 maiden Division goals in 1990/91 and 1991/92, respectively, before racking up 15 goals and ten assists in 41 matches in his maiden Premier League season.
His spectacular goalscoring form for Sheffield United persuaded Leeds to break their transfer record in a deal worth more than £60 million today, but the club’s decision proved to be a blunder.
Brian Deane’s Leeds career statistics
The former England international, who was capped three times by his country, had an excellent debut season with the Whites, scoring 11 goals and providing 12 assists in 41 Premier League games, bringing his form from the Blades to Elland Road.
Unfortunately, his outstanding first year at Leeds was an outlier in his four-year tenure with the Yorkshire club, with the 6 foot 3 striker’s form in front of goal deteriorating after that.
| Premier League career (Leeds) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Deane | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 1993/94 | 41 | 11 | 12 |
| 1994/95 | 35 | 9 | 2 |
| 1995/96 | 34 | 7 | 1 |
| 1996/97 | 28 | 5 | 1 |
| Stats via Transfermarkt | |||
As shown in the table above, his Premier League appearances and goals have steadily diminished over the years, with a notable lack of innovation following his rookie season.
After scoring double figures for the Blades in his last three years, Deane never scored more than nine goals in one of his four seasons with the Whites, and he did not win a single trophy during his tenure there.
They subsequently sold him back to Sheffield United in the summer of 1997 for £1.5 million, indicating that they made a significant loss on him, in addition to his poor performances on the pitch in three of his four seasons at Elland Road.
As a result, Leeds made a mistake in signing Deane from another Yorkshire club in 1993, as they paid a large quantity of money for him at the time and were not rewarded with any value on or off the pitch when they sold him four years later.
As a result, Leeds made a mistake in signing Deane from another Yorkshire club in 1993, as they paid a large quantity of money for him at the time and were not rewarded with any value on or off the pitch when they sold him four years later.
