Leeds United are approaching the winter transfer window in a strong position. Daniel Farke and his side sit third in the Championship table and are one of the strongest favourites to win automatic promotion to the Premier League. The Whites fans are keen to see the club attack the January window and bring in reinforcements to boost their promotion hopes. However, noises coming out of Elland Road must make the supporters feel jittery about the club’s plans for the winter window.
The Leeds board are prepared to make more money available to spend in the winter window but there are suggestions that manager Daniel Farke could be keener to work with what he has got for the rest of the season.
Most managers would be jumping at the opportunity of bringing in new players to freshen up the squad in the middle of the season but the Leeds boss is known for being oddly different.
Farke is one of those managers who like working with a leaner and smaller squad and has never been keen to change the makeup of his resources even if he gets the opportunity to do so in the winter window.
Leeds remained quiet in the winter window last season and it was largely down to the manager who never pushed the club to bring in reinforcements.
It seems the same story could repeat itself next month as according to the Yorkshire Evening Post, the Leeds boss remains wary of adding new players to his squad in the middle of the season.
Daniel Farke must learn from last season’s mistakes
Leeds were one of the favourites to win automatic promotion last season and 90 points would have got them to the Premier League in any other campaign. However, Leicester and Ipswich Town were a bit better and beat them to the top two positions. Leeds were forced into the playoffs and they lost the final against Southampton at Wembley.
The Whites were excellent last season but there is a feeling that the Leeds players ran out of steam towards the end of the campaign. Some have blamed Leeds’ lethargy in the winter window when they failed to adequately fill the gaps in the squad.
There are claims that Farke was reluctant to bring in more players to cause potential disharmony in the squad and it seems he has not changed his mind about potential January signings.
The Leeds boss is wary of doing too much in the winter window and in turn, affects the balance of his squad in the middle of the season. He places a lot of emphasis on maintaining harmony, balance and unity in his squad.
However, it’s time Farke learns that he cannot afford to have one more bad winter window.
As things stand, the race for automatic promotion is shaping up to be close and Leeds must take any chance to take advantage. They can be rest assured that Leeds’ promotion rivals will invest in their squad in the winter window.
Leeds are also dealing with injuries in their defence and midfield and Farke needs a striker as well because it seems he has no faith in Patrick Bamford and Joe Gelhardt.
It would seem counterintuitive if Farke decides against bringing in proper reinforcements as Leeds need all the help they can get to achieve promotion this season.
But Leeds United should not buy for the sake of it
There is a reason Farke is wary of adding new players to his squad as signing players in the winter transfer window is always a tricky business.
Convincing clubs to sell one of their best players is always tough and more importantly, it is not easy to introduce a new player to a set squad in the middle of the season.
There is very little time for managers to ensure that a new player adapts to his new surroundings and it gets trickier if a new signing arrives from outside England.
Farke and Leeds must be sure about a player before trying to sign someone in January as Leeds would not want to make the same mistake they committed when they signed Georginio Rutter in January 2023.
Leeds would want someone to come in and make an impact this season in order to boost their chances of promotion to the Premier League.
