Musical chairs and Whites lightning – Leeds United’s wild transfer deadline day as it happened - YEP 2/9/22

Deadline day at Leeds United is rarely boring but the summer 2022 version will take some beating, as YEP chief reporter Graham Smyth gives his verdict.

By Graham Smyth

Transfer deadline day is all fun and games until the music stops and you're the one left without a chair.

Leeds United have played this game before, so a familiar feeling must have settled in stomachs like concrete as things started to go awry with their move for Marseille's Bamba Dieng.

It was already late in the day, so to speak, when Leeds switched their full attention to the 22-year-old and agreed not only a £9m fee with his club, but personal terms.

Dieng was the club's fifth crack at landing an attacker this summer after pursuits of Eddie Nketiah, Charles De Ketelaere, Hwang Hee-chan and Cody Gakpo, who appeared to be Elland Road bound on Wednesday night until PSV changed their minds, and his.

The prospect of bringing either De Ketelaere or Gakpo had raised expectation levels, given how highly rated they are as two of Europe's most exciting talents.

And as Angus Kinnear stated ahead of the Everton game, only an exceptional addition would be considered.

So when news broke of Victor Orta's bid to bring Dieng to Leeds, the assumption was that the lesser-known Senegalese international must have had something about him.

The last player Orta bought from Ligue 1 on a deadline day was Raphinha, arguably his best ever signing, and those close to Marseille spoke of Dieng as a fan favourite and a player with serious potential.

Amid growing excitement and relief that an important box was due to be ticked, Jesse Marsch held his press conference at Thorp Arch.

The cat may have been out of the bag before he entered the room but Marsch studiously ignored it, fighting his natural instinct to talk freely on any given subject and seeking safe ground. Let's talk Brentford. Injuries. Anything but transfers.

It was clear that the message was to try and do the final bit of recruitment in relative quiet.

That memo did not reach the desk of majority owner Andrea Radrizzani, however, who took to social media even as Marsch was speaking, with a Tweet that was as close to a signing announcement as you could hope for.

"Let s [sic] welcome Bamba Dieng and we will continue to work on Gapko [sic],” he said.

"Now it s [sic] time to focus on the pitch and support our new project and the great job Jesse and the staff are doing.”

The tweet caused no small measure of mirth in the media room at Thorp Arch - any remaining cover for the deal was blown - but other than some ambiguity over the status of Gakpo hopes that are definitely for another day and another window, it was surely harmless.

Leeds were hit with their fair share of deadline day lightning in January 2019 when Swansea stopped answering the phone and Daniel James left Elland Road without finalising the deal that was agreed.

It would not strike again, it could not. What could possibly go wrong? On deadline that's the question you don't dare ask.

Leeds fans never got the chance to welcome the striker, though, because as Dieng prepared to fly to England to meet them, Nice got on the phone with an offer that kept the plane on the ground and the striker in France, for the next five years. Until, of course, he failed a late night medical. Of course. Nice and Marseille did make plans to revive the deal with further medical tests, news that was met in Leeds with Yorkshire's answer to a Gallic shrug.

Coming as it did with five hours and fifteen minutes remaining in the window, Dieng's decision seemingly left Leeds with no time to get anything else off the ground.

And what made a chaotic day such a shame for Leeds was that it threatened to leave a smear on an otherwise lovely window.

This summer's recruitment has made a lot of sense, even without the benefit of many games on which to judge it.

And by all accounts, Marsch's certainly, everyone has been on the same page for the duration.

"I think we operate on the same frequency," he said of his and Orta's working relationship.

"We have a great relationship and he comes every day with passion and he listens. I also think you have to include Angus and his ability to work closely with us and bring a calm presence and logically think about solutions."

Right at the death, against all odds, a potential solution was found.

It started to become clear with just minutes between Leeds and the deadline, that fun and games were afoot and a move for 18-year-old Zurich forward Willy Gnonto was a real possibility.

"We know him, and I think we think very highly of him, he’s a young talented player," Marsch said in August, adding the teen was a long-term project and not quite Premier League ready.

But by 11pm when the music stopped, there was no confirmation and Leeds found themselves in Premier League deal sheet territory and still searching for a chair.

They weren't the only ones staying up late and awaiting word because as the drama was unfolding James was at Craven Cottage going through the now familiar rigmarole of completing a move.

He too must have had a sickening case of déjà vu as word filtered through from up north that something had gone wrong.

The winger was essentially deemed expendable in the final stages of the window and the pending World Cup made game time more vital than ever, so his willingness to move was understandable.

His willingness to come back had the need arose, less so.

In the end Leeds were able to give the green light and avoid pulling a Swansea on him. He stayed at Fulham, which felt wise for him. Whether it will feel like a wise move for Leeds will be revealed in time.

That news was officially confirmed 45 minutes after the deadline.

Twenty-five minutes later, at 00:10, Leeds announced Gnonto, on a five-year deal, with reports in Italy disclosing the undisclosed fee as €4.5m, plus add-ons.

Already a senior Italian international, Gnonto's potential puts him far from the 'warm body' category of signing that Kinnear vowed would not arrive at Elland Road. He can play across the front line. He has an impressive amount of experience for his tender years and his explosive dribbling skill will go down well at Elland Road, when he eventually steps out onto the pitch.

All of that and the scant level of investment it took to get him in gives the deal the look of yet more very astute summer 2022 business.

Only the context of the Premier League ready players Leeds came close to will stick in the craw of supporters still harbouring concerns over the front line and their ability to cover the season's minutes and necessary goals between them. Just like the disappointment of coming so close to such talent, Leeds will have to swallow that.

Orta himself has cited the time Rafael Benitez 'asked for a table and was brought a lampshade', at Valencia.

What Leeds wanted was a chair and if nothing else the ratification of Gnonto's deal allowed everyone at Elland Road to take the weight off, at long last.

Let's see if they sit more comfortably in the Premier League this season.