If Leeds United are planning on a quiet January transfer window, they should change their strategy very quickly.
After a decent start to life in the Premier League, things are no longer looking so promising for Leeds United.
Though there is no shame in losing to a quality side like Brighton, the manner of the defeat on Saturday has been a great cause for concern amongst supporters.
Daniel Farke got his tactics wrong on the south coast. He instructed his team to sit back and let Brighton have the ball. A mistake. Within seconds, it was obvious who was going to win the game.
But even still, mistakes can happen. The biggest worry is Leeds’ complete lack of cutting edge in attacking areas.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has just one goal in seven starts and hasn’t even come close to scoring in recent games.
It’s not all on him, as he hasn’t been getting enough support. The midfielders haven’t been getting close enough to feed off his hold-up play and the wingers, despite Noah Okafor’s best efforts, aren’t doing enough to stretch defences.
Willy Gnonto and Dan James have been injured and hopefully their returns will help turn things around, but one thing is obvious: Leeds need attacking reinforcements in January.
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If Sunderland, as owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has teased, can afford to spend in the new year, then Leeds should be able to as well.
Close up image of Sunderland's owner, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus.
Photo by Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Kyril Louis-Dreyfus suggests Sunderland will spend again in the January transfer window
Sunderland spent over £180m in the summer transfer window, blowing Leeds and Burnley away with their ambition upon winning promotion to the Premier League.
Sunderland beat Leeds to Habib Diarra and Noah Sadiki, while also making marquee additions like Granit Xhaka and Brian Brobbey.
Though the Black Cats did raise funds through the sales of Jobe Bellingham and Tommy Watson, that’s still a massive outlay, especially for a team from the Championship.
Yet, owner Louis-Dreyfus has hinted that more spending will come in January.
“Obviously, if we’re in the bottom three by Christmas or we’re in the top six by Christmas, that changes the ambition a little bit,” he said in an interview on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football.
“We’re currently preparing for all scenarios, but we’ve been doing that since the summer, so hopefully we’ll be going into the January window with a top ten finish in mind, and we will prepare and execute the transfer window to give us the best chance.”
Louis-Dreyfus has already made Leeds fans jealous with his revelation that Sunderland didn’t have much limit to their summer spending and they will no doubt be even more so given the Whites have already hinted they won’t be signing players in January.
What Leeds United have said about spending in the January transfer window
Leeds suffered a disastrous end to the summer transfer window by missing out on an additional attacking signing like Harry Wilson or Facundo Buonanotte.
In the aftermath of deadline day, some Leeds fans hoped a free agent like Christian Eriksen or Josh Brownhill would be recruited to fill the void.
But managing director Robbie Evans quickly moved to dash those hopes and even suggested the club would rather not spend in January.
“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 told 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.
“And 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.
“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.”
It’s now 10 games in, so Leeds are presumably evaluating where they stand. If they aren’t concluding that signings are needed in January, while Sunderland are already on the hunt, then something is wrong.