The transfer window closed shut for another six months with Leeds United missing out on the extra centre-forward manager Daniel Farke wanted for the second time running.
Farke had hoped for the reassurance of an additional No 9 but when more established Premier League clubs upped the asking price on Wolverhampton Wanderers' Jorgen Strand Larsen, they were forced to settle for playmaker Facundo Buonanotte as their only mid-season addition.
Leeds had structured a deal worth around £40m which meant they could buy Norwegian Strand Larsen without breaching PSR rules or having to sell players, but when it became clear Jean Philippe Mateta wanted to leave Crystal Palace, they weighed in with an offer Leeds could not match.
With Mateta's deadline-day move to AC Milan called off on medical grounds, it was left to the final minutes of the window when the London club wrapped up a deal for Strand Larsen.
MISSED: Leeds United were priced out of a move for Jorgen Strand Larsen (right), who joined Crystal Palace late on deadline day (Image: Darren Staples / AFP via Getty Images)placeholder image
MISSED: Leeds United were priced out of a move for Jorgen Strand Larsen (right), who joined Crystal Palace late on deadline day (Image: Darren Staples / AFP via Getty Images)
After a strong first half of the season, Farke was keen to keep his first-team squad together, beyond allowing fringe player Jack Harrison to join Fiorentina in a loan that could be made permanent in the summer.
The urgency for a striker has been reduced by the form of summer free transfer signings Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha, who have 14 goals between them.
The form of nine-goal Calvert-Lewin in particular and the way he has allowed Leeds to play made it harder to justify a huge outlay for an alternative striker. Calvert-Lewin has tended to lead the line in a 3-4-2-1 formation more often than not in the last couple of months.
Young defender Reuben Lopata-White was loaned to Scottish Championship side Greenock Morton.
NEW BOY: Facundo Buonanotte is awaiting his first Leeds United start (Image: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)placeholder image
NEW BOY: Facundo Buonanotte is awaiting his first Leeds United start (Image: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Buonanotte, who spent the first half of the season on loan at Chelsea, has been involved in the last three matchday squads for Leeds, but has so far only made two substitute appearances.
Adding more creativity between the lines of midfield and attack was something else Farke had hoped to do in the last window but was unable to, and this demand has at least been met.
With 14 games to play, Leeds are six points clear of the Premier League relegation zone.