Leeds United managing director Robbie Evans has faced the media to DEFEND the club’s transfer window, insisting they “spent everything we could”, while also appearing to rule out efforts to sign the likes of Christian Eriksen in the free transfer market.
The Whites brought in a total of 10 new players this summer, with their net spend set at £103.1m (€118.7m, $138.4m). And while Daniel Farke was allowed to bring in some much-needed reinforcements in midfield, defence and in goal, their failure to adequately bolster their attack has quickly been touted as a key weakness in Leeds United‘s survival chances.
Indeed, with just one goal to their name from three Premier League games so far – a penalty in the 1-0 win at home to Everton on the opening weekend – the Whites’ toothlessness in front of goal has been further exacerbated by the failure to land both Facundo Buonanotte and Harry Wilson in the final days of the summer window.
Those failures have, understandably, caused something of a mutiny among fans, who are now seriously concerned by the club’s prospects of avoiding an immediate return to the second tier.
And while it’s been suggested Leeds could look to the free-transfer market – former Manchester United midfielder Eriksen has been touted as a possible option, while on Wednesday, our transfer insider Fraser Fletcher had been informed the Whites were also in contention to sign former Burnley man, Josh Brownhill, who is also being tracked in Saudi Arabia.
Despite those links, Evans is adamant that Leeds are not looking to bring in more new players.
“I think whether it’s in the window or it’s free agent market only, or it’s January, it’s all about what does the team actually need?” Evans said in a Q&A with the Yorkshire Evening Post.
“What is the opportunity cost, as far as the buy you can’t make later on, or the sale you might have to make out of your current roster?
“I don’t think right now there’s any need so great that it’s worth going to the free agent market to fill it, in part because I doubt the right player is there.
“It’s a great market for injuries. So last year brought Josuha [Guilavogui] on. We had an emergency crisis with injuries. But beyond that, it’s probably wait and see…”
Whether Evans’ words prove to be a smokescreen or not – and we understand Leeds do have a genuine interest in Brownhill, who is currently weighing up his next move and is due to decide by the end of the week – it still leaves Farke with a huge task on his hands.
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Indeed, the Whites competed well in their most recent game – a 0-0 draw against Newcastle – and more than matched Eddie Howe’s side in midfield, while their defence also held firm against the visitors and did not look like conceding.
However, Leeds looked very toothless in attack and lacked the imagination needed to unlock the Newcastle defence, while they barely laid a glove on Arsenal in their previous encounter.
If Farke is to make do with those players at his disposal, then the manager will need to work wonders and hope to get a quick tune out of his summer signings, with a big reliance on new boys Lukas Nmecha, Noah Okafor and Dominic Calvert-Lewin to make a difference.
That, though, will be far from easy and some feel Farke has been sent into a gunfight armed with just a water pistol.
Evans, meanwhile, is also suggesting Leeds are unlikely to dip their toes into the January market either.
“You know, once we get through the first 10 games, you’re eight games from January. And so if we have to evaluate, we’ll use that,” he continued.
“But our goal is to avoid January, if possible. So there’s a reason we didn’t do a big thing in January last year or the year before.
“The goal is to be done early. And actually, we got all of our core guys done before the season even began, for that reason.
“So not just before deadline day, but actually before August was the goal with the key ones. And so it’s there, but we don’t see using free agency as a priority because there’s only a handful of players we felt were good enough to begin with, and the pool obviously shrinks dramatically when you go from the entirety of the window, or the players in the window to the handful of free agents that are available.”
Evans, meanwhile, has also launched a staunch defence of their summer window, insisting the club did all in their power and spent up to their means in order not to bust the Premier League’s strict Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
“This summer, we spent everything we could,” he said. “Unequivocally, we are maxing PSR out this season.
“If we had gone on to other targets [on deadline day], or on to higher-priced players back in July, the consequences would have been seen in the current roster – the players in August would not have come in, or more key players from last season would have had to go.
“There were only a handful of players that were worth even considering making those kinds of sales. And when those top players didn’t materialise, we held on to our key players instead.”
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