Transfer deadline day brought plenty of Leeds United-adjacent action but nothing like what supporters wanted to see.
A player previously looked at by Elland Road decision makers, moved to Leeds' direct rivals in the Premier League, ex-Leeds players moved and even the son of Leeds boss Daniel Farke got in on the transfer act. Luca Netz, a relatively cheap left-back pick up for Nottingham Forest, was one Leeds previously considered and a deal they were aware of but not moved to act upon in January, even if full-back was an area where further depth could be useful if not important.
Former Leeds favourite Kalvin Phillips joined fellow ex-Whites Joe Rothwell and Leo Hjelde in deadline day traffic to Bramall Lane, giving Chris Wilder a five-strong group of Elland Road alumni that already includes Patrick Bamford and Jamie Shackleton.
And Farke's 18-year-old son Luis Engelns got himself a big move in Germany, swapping his local side Paderborn in 2. Bundesliga for top tier outfit Hoffenheim, who have gained a reputation for developing and selling on players for big moves and big profit.
Elsewhere in transfer news not directly related to Leeds but concerning them, or at least giving some fans cause for concern, West Ham United were taking West Ham Axel Disasi on loan from Chelsea.
But the day came and went without a flight landing at Leeds Bradford Airport, a medical at Thorp Arch and a new signing posing with a pen over completed paperwork.
Of course the biggest story involving and not involving Leeds was the Jorgen Strand Larsen affair, by now a full-blown bona fide transfer saga. A player Leeds were willing to commit £40m to, in a deal structured to keep them within PSR boundaries, and one they may briefly have thought would become an option again despite the refusal of that offer. A player Crystal Palace agreed a fee for, then pressed pause to re-negotiate a deal for. A player who completed a medical in London on Sunday and then had to sit and wait on Monday for confirmation that Palace would indeed see it through, despite the deadline day collapse of Jean-Philippe Mateta's move to AC Milan. A player outside Leeds' valuation, outside their price range and not available to them regardless of what happened at Selhurst Park.
At the heart of Leeds United's decision - and it was a decision because while Strand Larsen was never in their hands, they could have gone and signed someone else up top or at left-back - to emerge from the market with just Facundo Buonanotte, was not only a broad club-wide agreement that they should be picky and a collective appreciation of the squad, but Daniel Farke's protective approach to squad harmony. The German holds togetherness and unity so highly that he would simply not take undue risks with it in January. He did not want many additions, he is no fan of the January window - his track record at Leeds is evidence enough of this - and it became clear even last week when talking to club sources that if it was not to be Strand Larsen it was unlikely to be anyone. There was nothing in the links to Mohamed Amoura.
But to throw Farke's own phrase back at him - one death you have to die. In refusing to risk the morale and established hierarchy of the squad, you risk coming a cropper with injuries and there is one man above most who Leeds cannot afford to lose. Dominic Calvert-Lewin's importance to the team, which has become more and more obvious as the season has progressed, was part of the motivation to go and sign another big targetman in Strand Larsen. The absence of Calvert-Lewin is unthinkable and yet it seems to be all many Leeds fans can think about. Farke simply does not have a like-for-like replacement who can play the targetman role the way Calvert-Lewin plays it, or give Leeds a platform in the final third as effectively as he can. His 'injury CV' as Farke would call it is extensive and so is that of the other number 9, Lukas Nmecha. Nmecha being out injured for the final game of the transfer window did no one any favours when it came to optics. Joel Piroe coming on against Arsenal and barely touching the ball was a similar story.
The problem for a club emerging from the window without a new striker is trying to explain to disappointed supporters why that is the case, when they were willing to pay up to £40m for one. Another problem is the goalkeeper situation, with no one in the Leeds keepers union imbuing the fanbase with confidence after high-profile and costly errors from both summer signing Lucas Perri and Karl Darlow. And then there's the fact that it would not take very many injuries at all to test a newly-promoted squad's depth at full-back.
On the other hand, the idea of shelling out what Palace were willing to pay for a striker with one goal this season, a striker who would almost certainly not start ahead of Calvert-Lewin for weeks if not months, if at all, is not an idea that floats well with many. Financial prudence is still valued by supporters who remember how previous big-money gambles turned out. And a squad that has got to this point of the season with a six-point lead over the team in 18th has been good enough thus far. They definitely have it in them to get the points required, particularly with the winnable home games still to come. But make no mistake, should they lose to Forest on Friday night the whole club will be back to its last nerve. And should they run into injury problems, January inaction will be even harder for the club to explain.
Not everyone is panicking, however. Not everyone is convinced Leeds, without a second or third January signing, will go down. A poll of nearly 10,000 on X.com showed that only 31 per cent were predicting relegation, with 27 per cent tipping survival and 42 per cent unable to say. The same poll on Bluesky revealed a slightly more optimistic outlook, with 52 per cent confident that Leeds will stay up and only 13 per cent predicting the opposite fate. What stands out most perhaps is that so many find it too difficult to call either way. The YEP view is similar - this is not a team obviously destined for the drop and nor is it in such a shape that anyone can be complacent. They have previously assuaged concerns around goals and dug themselves and their manager out of a tricky situation prior to the Man City-Chelsea-Liverpool gauntlet. Staying up is very doable but it is going to be difficult. It was always going to be difficult.
And now we know what Farke's squad looks like for the rest of the season. It does not mean everyone should move on. There are questions for the board to answer. Supporters deserve to hear why there's such confidence internally that this group is enough, how Leeds would have been able to afford Strand Larsen when even last summer's far-cheaper move for Harry Wilson would have required some PSR manoeuvring, why no other striker fit the bill this month, why the goalkeeping department and full-back areas were not strengthened and whether or not Farke's feelings on what was needed matched those of everyone else in the recruitment process. Farke too will face questions this week, having kept his counsel for most of the month on what it was exactly Leeds needed to do. No matter what comes out of the mouths of the Elland Road decision makers, there will be those for whom January remains a source of anger or disappointment. And no matter what they say, the Premier League table will ultimately judge the substance.
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