Leeds United spent over £100 million on 10 different new players this summer, with the 49ers bringing in serious quality within that in some areas.
However, the 49ers did not grant Daniel Farke at least one more attacking player to bring more guile and creativity to the Leeds United forward line in the last few days of the window.
The reality is, Leeds fans have been left frustrated after deadline day and the squad is short of not signing at least one attacker as Farke asked, per Adam Pope of the BBC.
Leeds spent less than Sunderland and Burnley in the end, which may well be partly down to the fact they created PSR headroom through the sales of Jobe Bellingham and James Trafford respectively, but it puts into perspective how Leeds came up short.
Leeds United FC v Bristol City FC - Sky Bet Championship
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Finance expert Kieran Maguire’s reveal on Leeds’ Premier League spending
Anton Stach was the most-expensive Leeds signing, costing £19.9 million if he hits every one of his add-ons. If we include add-ons, Leeds spent £108.5 million in the end.
Two free transfers and one signing below £10 million, Leeds spent £10-20 million on seven players in the end. Whether it will be enough from the 49ers remains to be seen, and the proof will very much be in the pudding concerning results.
Name Club signed from Price Height Age
Anton Stach TSG Hoffenheim £19.9m 6’4″ 26
Noah Okafor AC Milan £18m 6’1″ 25
Lucas Perri Olympique Lyonnais £15.6m 6’6″ 27
Sean Longstaff Newcastle United £15m 6’2″ 27
Jaka Bijol Udinese £15m 6’3″ 26
Gabriel Gudmundsson Lille OSC £10m 5’11” 26
James Justin Leicester City £10m 6’0″ 27
Sebastiaan Bornauw VfL Wolfsburg £5m 6’3″ 26
Lukas Nmecha VfL Wolfsburg Free 6’1″ 26
Dominic Calvert-Lewin Everton Free 6’2″ 28
Leeds United’s 2025/26 season signings
Instead, Leeds spread their money across the side, as opposed to spending plenty of cash on one or two superstar additions in the way many other bottom-end teams tend to.
MORE LEEDS UNITED STORIES
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has since revealed the 49ers spent the 11th most in Leeds’ Premier League history when each campaign is adjusted for inflation.
The Peter Ridsdale era back in 2000/2001 saw Leeds spend a whopping £405.7 million when adjusted for inflation in 2025. That is the 13th-highest spend in Premier League history of any side.
It’s £185.7 million more than Leeds’ next highest spend, which came just one year prior. Leeds’ 2025/26 Premier League spend, without add-ons, is around £98 million — the 325th-highest ever, per Maguire’s data.
It’s also the 11th most Leeds have spent out of 16 seasons as a Premier League club since 1992. Of course, it could increase in January, but by how much?
Paraag Marathe attends a Leeds game.
Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Paraag Marathe’s ‘spend the very last penny’ quotes age badly
Paraag Marathe confirmed the need for Leeds sales earlier in the summer, but only two players were sold.
Rasmus Kristensen and Sam Greenwood were the only players helping create any kind of PSR headroom, but Leeds were restricted financially via PSR more so than either Sunderland or Burnley.
Leeds were tipped to be one of the busiest sides in the market, but both outspent the Whites. It goes against Marathe’s comments stating Leeds would spend every penny they can, saying: “Whatever they will let us spend, we’ll spend.
“I can comfortably say that we are going to spend the very last penny that we can. I’m under no illusions that it’s going to be easy; there’s a widening gap.”