Leeds United brought in seven new players to strengthen their squad in the summer, but the club knew it needed several departures to keep its wage bill in check.
Illan Meslier, Karl Darlow, Sam Byram and Max Wober left on free transfers, but the club had to accept several loan offers to move on other players late in the window.
While Wilfried Gnonto, Joel Piroe and Lucas Perri could leave on permanent deals if they perform at their respective clubs, Sebastiaan Bornauw will return at the end of his loan stint.
Let’s catch up on how those loan players are performing and predict whether any of them will earn permanent exits at the end of their loan stints.
Joel Piroe (West Ham)
Joel Piroe became a bit-part player at Leeds last season after leading their promotion-winning Championship campaign in goals. A return to the second tier with West Ham made sense, but the Hammers only signed him on an initial loan deal worth £4m. They have an obligation to buy for £8m if they get promoted, and the Hammers seem primed to get straight back up at the end of the season.
Leeds will likely get their money from Piroe’s permanent sale to West Ham next summer.
Wilfried Gnonto (Fiorentina)
Leeds ultimately decided to sanction the winger’s loan move to Fiorentina in the final hours of the transfer window, after signing Jean-Matteo Bahoya from Eintracht Frankfurt. The Italian club have an option to buy the player on a permanent deal worth £18m.
However, Fiorentina sacked Fabio Grosso days after Gnonto arrived, and the winger is struggling to get a start under new boss Paolo Vanoli.
He has scored a goal in the Coppa Italia, but he has yet to start a Serie A game and played 10 minutes in Fiorentina’s 1-1 draw against Napoli last weekend.
For now, it seems unlikely that Fiorentina will pay the fee to sign the winger on a permanent deal next year.
Lucas Perri (Torino)
The Brazilian goalkeeper joined Leeds last year and was expected to solve their goalkeeping issues. However, he was dropped midway through the season after several inconsistent performances and errors that led to goals.
Perri was always expected to leave Leeds in the summer, but signing James Trafford for a club-record fee made it inevitable.
However, it took Torino some time to finalise a loan agreement with Leeds that included an option to buy for £12m. But he has already committed a few errors that would pause any plans to sign him on a permanent deal.
The Italian club would want to wait and further assess his performances in the coming months before deciding his future.
Largie Ramazani (Burnley)
The Belgian winger was never part of Daniel Farke’s plans, and after waiting for Valencia all summer, Ramazani joined Burnley on loan late in the window.
Burnley have a buy obligation tied to his appearances and performances, and the winger has made a decent start at Turf Moor this season.
He has scored and assisted a goal each and has started three of the five Championship games he has been available since joining the club. The Clarets have a strong chance of signing him on a permanent deal.
Sebastiaan Bornauw (Hamburg)
The centre-back pushed for a move away from Leeds after spending a season as a squad player at Elland Road, and he joined Hamburg on a straight loan deal.
Bornauw has not looked great since joining Hamburg, and the Bundesliga club conceded seven goals in the two league games he started. The defender is currently recovering from a muscular problem and missed the last two games.
He is slated to return to Leeds at the end of the season, and it doesn’t seem likely that Hamburg will be rushing to agree a permanent deal with the Whites.
