Leeds United manager Daniel Farke, Graham Smyth in a circular insert.
Leeds United closed out the January transfer window without adding to their squad on deadline day, leaving Facundo Buonanotte’s loan switch from Brighton as their sole winter signing.
The Whites were keen to bolster their attacking options but chose not to be drawn into a bidding war for top target Jorgen Strand Larsen, who instead joined Crystal Palace in a deal potentially worth £48m.
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Leeds were linked with moves for both former Aston Villa forward Jhon Duran and Krasnodar captain Eduard Spertsyan, but neither deal came to fruition, and no one joined the Whites on deadline day.
It has emerged that Leeds only offered to sign Strand Larsen on loan with a mandatory purchase clause, and Graham Smyth has provided a lowdown on what went down on deadline day inside Elland Road.
Leeds United were not working on anything on deadline day
The Whites fans were waiting for Leeds to make a move or two to sign new players on deadline day. However, it was an oddly quiet deadline day at Elland Road.
Farke indicated after the Arsenal game that he would prefer to sign a goalkeeper, and a striker was on the agenda during the winter transfer window.
However, Smyth has revealed that Leeds were not actively exploring any deals on Monday and were happy to sit back and watch the action unfold elsewhere.
He stressed that the club would have only moved had Strand Larsen’s move to Palace had collapsed, and even then, they would have wanted enough time to conduct a thorough medical.
Smyth said on the Inside Elland Road podcast: “I never really got the sense that Leeds were really gearing up for something or exploring things or in any deals that didn’t come off, it was just simply a case of Strand Larsen.
“If it had fallen apart at Palace within a certain time frame, then Leeds would have tried to make that happen, I think.
“But the difficulty there was it would have had to have fallen apart with enough time for him to get to Leeds to have all the scans and have a thorough medical because there’s no way Leeds were going to commit £40million to a player without doing a full medical.”
Leeds have taken a huge gamble
The Leeds head coach made it clear late in the window that he was dissatisfied with his goalkeeping options, while the lack of attacking depth remains a serious issue.
With Lukas Nmecha continuing to battle injury problems, Leeds have effectively placed their faith in Dominic Calvert-Lewin staying fit for the rest of the campaign.
Concerns over instability between the posts persist, and there is surprise that the club did not at least move for a goalkeeper once a deal for Strand Larsen fell through.
Premier League bottom six – league position, results and goal difference
Pos Team Played W D L GF GA GD Points
15 Crystal Palace 24 7 8 9 25 29 -4 29
16 Leeds United 24 6 8 10 31 42 -11 26
17 Nottingham Forest 24 7 5 12 24 35 -11 26
18 West Ham United 24 5 5 14 29 48 -19 20
19 Burnley 23 3 6 14 25 44 -19 15
20 Wolverhampton Wanderers 24 1 5 18 15 45 -30 8
As things stand, Leeds are one Calvert-Lewin injury away from a genuine crisis. Nmecha cannot be relied upon for sustained fitness, and Farke has shown little confidence in Joel Piroe.
In defence, Sebastiaan Bornauw is the only recognised centre-back available across three central roles, while James Justin has also picked up a fresh injury.
With Leeds standing still as their relegation rivals strengthen, supporters will be hoping these late-window calls do not come back to haunt the club at the end of the season.