The 1-0 defeat at Fulham once again exposed the flaws in Daniel Farke’s Leeds United side, while the manager’s transfer bombshell has laid bare the gap between what he wanted and what the club delivered in the summer window.
Leeds have not scored a goal from open play this season, and have gone three Premier League games without scoring since their opening day victory over Everton at Elland Road.
The Whites are not scoring, and that is a huge issue, despite the underlying numbers suggesting that the team may well do just enough to survive in the Premier League this season.
Farke wanted to sign two more attackers on deadline day, and the Leeds manager has let slip that he was keen on signing one more player representing Fulham on Saturday, last summer, excluding Harry Wilson and Rodrigo Muniz.
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Daniel Farke’s transfer bombshell that he wanted to sign Kevin exposes the 49ers further
Fulham forked out a club-record fee of £34.5m to sign Kevin from Shakhtar Donetsk on transfer deadline day, and he changed the game for the Cottagers on Saturday.
He was thrown into the mix for the final 15 minutes, and it was his terrific shot that led to the corner, from which Gabriel Gudmundsson headed in an own goal in injury time.
Farke conceded that Kevin showed why the big money is paid for forwards, as they can come on and completely change a game with their performance.
The Leeds manager admitted that he was aware of Kevin’s quality even before he joined Fulham this summer, but stressed that he was beyond his club’s budget.
“If you spend so much money, this is what you get. It’s why I was so on it to add to our offensive block”, Farke said in a press conference after the game.
“If you can bring a player with so much quality on, in the 70th minute, you can inspire a whole stadium.
“You create chances, force a goalkeeper to make a save, win a corner, and create a situation. I’m not surprised, I was aware of his quality, the only bad thing is that sadly, we couldn’t afford him.”
The 49ers dropped the ball in the summer
While defensively and in midfield, Leeds look solid, the lack of quality in the forward line is holding Farke’s team back early in the season.
Leeds hopelessly chased Igor Paixao despite it being clear that he wanted to join Marseille to play in the Champions League, and wasted weeks waiting for Fulham to agree to sell Rodrigo Muniz, despite insistence from the Londoners that he was not for sale.
Lucas Perri joined in late August, but it took another three weeks for Leeds to pivot to Dominic Calvert-Lewin, despite him being available on a free transfer.
The 49ers and their recruitment team majorly dropped the ball when it comes to improving the team’s attack, and it could come back to haunt them at the end of the season.
