Nottingham Forest and West Ham's transfer decisions are as much a gamble as Leeds United’s call
Isaac Johnson Leeds United reporter
10:39, 04 Feb 2026
Leeds United have taken a risk
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Leeds United have taken a risk (Image: MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Comparison is the thief of joy, as the saying goes, yet for many Leeds United fans on deadline day this was an unavoidable subject.
West Ham United secured their fifth signing, Crystal Palace stole away Jorgen Strand Larsen and Nottingham Forest - tomorrow’s opponents - secured a left-back arrival having brought in a new goalkeeper; two areas Leeds supporters wanted to see their team bolster.
Like last year, United had a very strict mid-season criteria - players would only be hunted for if they were of the required quality, of good character and were affordable. Strand Larsen ticked all of these boxes and was seen as a unique opportunity amid Wolves’ plight, hence their £40m bid.
He was seen as a long-term investment and not a quick hole filler. Facundo Buonanotte was someone they wanted to bring in last summer, and so his arrival was not a total shock. As for other targets, quite clearly none met their high threshold, not even as a loan.
With other relegation rivals bringing in players in the meantime, a number of Whites diehards are wondering whether their recruitment team has played a blinder or been blind. Ultimately only the final table will tell.
But Leeds chiefs will point to their summer recruitment. Perhaps all bar Lucas Perri have added something to the squad and played important roles. Amid a series of poor results through November, these players were getting hammered.
Since, the change in formation and rise in belief has seen these signings come good and some of them undroppable. With Buonanotte, patience is key given he was only handed sporadic game time during his loan at Chelsea.
In terms of the big picture, the recruitment team - while not admonishing them from any criticism in entirety - can validly argue that their summer stance worked in the first half of the season given where Leeds currently find themselves in the table.
The club were hamstrung by a lack of PSR headroom last month and the money for Strand Larsen would have come out of next season’s budget. The board can argue that their hands were tied to an extent.
Yet there is still an obvious risk. Should Dominic Calvert-Lewin or one of the starting full-backs be ruled out for a long period of time, there is worry about what is left in back up.
It appears other relegation rivals have looked to plug their gaps. But there is one aspect that rings true and will only be answered later down the line - there is no guarantee the players West Ham and Forest have brought in will be a success.
If either of those do drop down to the Championship, they are straddled with sub-par players on Premier League wages amid tighter EFL spending rules. That's the risk they take.
The gamble for Leeds is that by not reinforcing, they might not have given themselves enough manpower to see them stay above the line.
But the bottom line is that just because other teams have brought players in does not mean that was the right choice.
It may be and if this is the case then the United board will face heavy questioning. But if Leeds stay up, few will care much about what happened in the January transfer window.
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