Leeds United's deadline day transfer preference revealed as reason for signings stall explored — YEP 16/1/25

By Joe Donnohue

If Leeds United are to conduct incoming January transfer business, it was always likely to occur during the final fortnight of the window.

During the first two weeks of 2025, Leeds supporters have watched as promotion rivals added to their squads, strengthening in areas which needed supplementation.

Burnley signed defender Oliver Sonne from Denmark, as well as re-signing veteran centre-forward Ashley Barnes, while Sunderland pulled off what has the potential to be coup of the window by securing Enzo Le Fee on an initial loan deal from Italian giants AS Roma.

Leeds' stance has remained unchanged; the club expect a quiet window. Nor are they likely to feel peer pressured into conducting business that does not improve Daniel Farke's starting lineup, which, during the first half of the 2024/25 season, has United on track for automatic promotion.

Concerns amongst fans are understandable given Leeds' historical tendency to tail off at the business end of the campaign. Last season, Farke's young squad ran out of steam during the final six weeks and despite what appeared to be a resurgence during the play-off semi-final second leg at home to Norwich City, did not materialise in promotion.

Supporters are keen, desperate even, to avoid a similar scenario playing out again. Therefore clamour for signings to bulk out what is a thin, but functional squad is not unreasonable. Nor is Farke's rebuttal to talk of incoming transfers. The manager is conscious of disrupting the team's chemistry and the dressing room's harmony by introducing too many new faces, which he says can happen sometimes as an unintended consequence of January business.

He also makes the valid point that Leeds' current squad has steered them to the summit of the Championship table and major surgery on the make-up of his group is arguably unnecessary. Supporters, though, want to be sure, and may point to Sheffield United's transfer intent, but Farke's retort may well be to compare the personnel on both benches over the past few weeks. Leeds' has been stacked with international and prodigious talent, while the Blades have had to call up youngsters with little to no professional experience en masse.

Whatever the outcome of Leeds' January shopping, whether it be merely browsing their options before pulling the trigger in summer when the landscape on the horizon could be the Premier League, or an addition or two, incoming business at Elland Road was always likely to be done later in the window.

Of Leeds' eight most recent first-team signings during the January transfer period, four were signed on - or in the immediate days leading up to - deadline day, while just one joined before January 16, today's date.

Georginio Rutter's January 14th arrival two years ago is the outlier in this particular list, caveated by the fact Leeds were still a Premier League club and had the facility to spend upwards of £30 million. Relegation has changed things and such expenditure is no longer a realistic prospect, even if January additions are.

Leeds didn't actually sign any first-team players in January during 2020/21 or 2021/22, both seasons in which they retained top flight status with what was largely a very tight-knit group, so there is precedent for Farke's case.

Going back to 2017/18, Leeds did make alterations to the squad quite considerably in the January window with Victor Orta, in his first year as director of football, keen to put his stamp on things.

Adam Forshaw and Tyler Roberts were signed for a combined £7 million with the former swapping the Riverside Stadium for Elland Road on January 18, 2018. Roberts' addition came later in the window, on January 31 - deadline day.

A year later, Kiko Casilla was the sole first-team arrival during January, signing for Leeds on January 17, 2019 to much fanfare given his previous posting at Real Madrid.

Then, in 2019/20, Leeds added Ian Poveda on January 24, 2020 before loaning Jean-Kevin Augustin three days later - two more late-in-the-window additions.

More recently, Rutter's 2022/23 arrival was not the only incoming business Leeds did that January with Weston McKennie joining on loan with one day remaining of the winter window. Last season, too, Leeds left it late, unveiling Burnley full-back Connor Roberts just as the January window closed.

There are myriad reasons to explain why clubs prefer to do business later than at the beginning of the month. More often than not, deals can take time to thrash out and it's not always the case that transfers are in the pipeline months in advance because coaches don't necessarily know what their squads require due to injuries, form and availability of their existing players.

There is also the fact that clubs, players and agents are less reluctant to do deals which don't necessarily tick every box when a deadline is approaching. This is particularly relevant for those who might be faced with the prospect of no regular football should they stay put at their current club where, for whatever reason, gametime has not been forthcoming during the opening half of the campaign.

Leeds 'remain awake' to transfer possibilities this month; the backroom team negotiating deals have not merely downed tools and taken the month off, but nor will the club sign warm bodies, as chief executive Angus Kinnear once put it. If the right deal presents itself, Leeds will push the button. If not, they won't panic, not least because they remain top of the league.