Leeds United ran into difficulties during their pursuit of a striker but the transfer market demands made it tougher than ever to find value.
It was a transfer window like no other across the Premier League but for Leeds United, it was one that ended in disappointment.
49ers Enterprises forked out their fair share of a league-record £3billion spend between June and September - a little over £100million to be more specific - with 10 new signings through the door. Few would argue against Daniel Farke having a defence and midfield ready for the top-flight but there is less certainty further forward.
Leeds’ ultimately failed deadline-day pursuit of Harry Wilson put the focus on a lack of creativity but fans have also questioned the absence of a marquee signing at No.9. Two strikers arrived but neither took up a chunk of the transfer budget, with only wage coverage - an admittedly not insignificant outlay - and signing-on fees needed to land Lukas Nmecha and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Managing director Robbie Evans recently described Leeds’ striker pursuit as ‘really exciting’ before going on to explain how Calvert-Lewin had been a top target all summer, one deemed unattainable until he became attainable. He also backed the club’s medical staff to keep him and Nmecha fit enough to contribute through the next nine months.
While both are undoubtedly decent strikers and exactly the kind of profile Leeds need this season, neither have encouraging recent injury records and neither cost the £32m that had seemingly been set aside for Rodrigo Muniz. But the simple fact is £32m won’t get you much anymore, not upfront anyway.
Strikers always end up being the big-money moves but this summer it felt they were in a price bracket of their own, with five of six most expensive moves across Europe being for No.9s according to Transfermarkt. The market for goalscorers was rife and with demand seemingly outweighing supply, price-tags were only going to go one way.
Leeds United were shopping in a market that exploded this summer
This summer’s record move was a striker, with Alexander Isak heading from Newcastle United to Liverpool for £125million. He joined Hugo Ekitike, a £79m signing from Eintracht Frankfurt where he scored an impressive but hardly mind-blowing 15 goals in 33 Bundesliga games last season.
Benjamin Sesko managed 13 goals in the same number of German top-flight games for RB Leipzig, enough for Manchester United to fork out the best part of £74m. Nick Woltemade scored a dozen for Stuttgart before joining Newcastle in a £69m deal last week.
Newcastle spent the rest of their Isak money on Yoane Wissa, finally getting the Brentford striker in a deal worth £55m. They’d bid £35m just a few weeks prior and £25m towards the start of the summer, eventually paying big money for an admittedly good striker, but one recently turned 29.
That’s the price you pay for Premier League experience and that experience alone seemingly proved enough for Burnley to pay £20m for Armando Broja, who hasn’t scored a top-flight league goal for three years. Those big fees weren’t limited to English clubs either, with Eintracht Frankfurt agreeing a deal to sign Newcastle striker Will Osula - who flattered to deceive at Elland Road last weekend - for £30m, only for it to fall through late on.
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Those numbers will likely have emboldened Fulham when it came to talks for Muniz, both with Leeds and Atalanta, and a reported £40m-plus price-tag simply could not be met. It would at the very least have forced some serious cutting of the cloth, something Evans hinted would have to have happened if a big-money move for Muniz, Igor Paixão or A.N.Other went through.
There were examples of potentially decent business in the No.9 area. Everton’s Thierno Barry could prove good value at £27m while £20m for Brian Brobbey also has potential, but neither is anything close to a guarantee and Leeds could not afford to get much wrong this summer.
But should fitness issues resurface for Calvert-Lewin and Nmecha this season - it must be said the latter came through an entire pre-season and has looked great physically so far - and should Joel Piroe’s Championship goals not translate into the top-tier, then hindsight might show they got it wrong. And getting it wrong at No.9 can cost you your Premier League status.
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