Leeds United and their newly-promoted colleagues have enjoyed promising starts to the Premier League campaign but January could prove crucial.
Former Tottenham Hotspur boss Tim Sherwood has been impressed by all three newly-promoted teams - but warns the likes of West Ham and Wolves could spend their way out of trouble in January.
Leeds United have taken eight points from their opening eight fixtures and might feel they deserve more, with their point-per-game average usually enough to survive. The Whites sit 16th as things stand, with Burnley a point behind in 17th and play-off winners Sunderland flying high in seventh.
After two years of newly-promoted misery, that all three sit outside of the relegation zone after eight weeks is testament to their efforts and cause for concern among more established Premier League strugglers. The current bottom three is made up of winless Wolves, West Ham and Nottingham Forest - the latter pair have sacked three managers between them already.
“It is encouraging, it really is,” Sherwood told Sky Sports. “I think it's refreshing for the game, I really do. I think in the Premier League... because the last two seasons the teams that came up went down, I think the Wolves in this world, the West Hams and a few other teams, they saved their money, kept their powder dry, but now in January there will be a mass rush to spend. They have to spend that, there will be panic stations.
“[It will be] ‘Hold on a minute, Sunderland and Burnley, the teams that have come up, they're not that bad. In fact, they're actually very good, so we're going to struggle to stay in this division, so we need to spend some money’. They still will have headroom to spend, whereas the teams that have got promoted perhaps won't. They'll probably be at their max now with the PSR, but it really is encouraging, it's great for the fans to see.”
What have Leeds United said about January transfers?
Should the likes of West Ham and Wolves have any PSR headroom, then it feels likely they will go for broke in a bid to survive. The latter splashed a whopping £42m in the previous campaign’s mid-season window while London Stadium chiefs are reportedly already planning an expensive start to 2026.
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Whether Leeds will also look to invest in January remains to be seen, with managing director Robbie Evans telling the YEP last month they are already at the limit of PSR. Any further business, therefore, would likely need to be offset by sales - as would have been the case had Harry Wilson arrived from Fulham on deadline day.
"I think whether it's in the window or it's the free agent market only, or it's January, it's all about what does the team actually need?” Evans said. “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?
"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.”
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