Leeds United had a poor end to the summer transfer window. The club spent more than £100m since getting promoted to the Premier League, but their failure to bring in the one or two attackers Daniel Farke wanted is set to overshadow their good work early in the window.
The club are insistent that a poor final day of the window should not mean they had a bad window. However, their deadline day disaster when Leeds failed to sign Fulham winger Harry Wilson is threatening to become the theme of the season for the club, unless they start getting more positive results.
The international break following the end of the window has not helped Leeds to change the narrative, as fans do not have any games to think about for a fortnight, and their deadline day failure is getting constant scrutiny.
However, Leeds managing director Robbie Evans also revealed in his post-window sit-down with reporters that the club did manage to hold on to their top stars, despite serious interest in a few of them from several Premier League and European clubs.
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Leeds United snubbed a concrete interest in Pascal Struijk
The arrival of two centre-backs in the summer led to suggestions that the club would cash in on Pascal Struijk before the end of the transfer window.
The centre-back has started all three Premier League games for the Whites, and has continued to remain a massive player for the club this season.
He was linked with a move to Villarreal in August, and according to TEAMtalk, the Spanish side did show a concrete interest in him during the window.
The Yellow Submarine identified the Leeds defender as a top target and approached the Whites to discuss a deal to take him to Spain in the summer window.
There were suggestions that Leeds could cash in if a club offered a deal worth £25m, but the club decided against selling him.
Leeds chose to keep one of their top players over cashing in and bringing in the funds needed to bring in more players in the last summer transfer window.
The Yorkshire giants believe Struijk will play a key role if Leeds have to survive in the Premier League this season.
Daniel Farke has several options in central defence
Struijk and Joe Rodon were at the heart of Leeds’ defence as they won the Championship and got promoted to the Premier League last season.
Leeds brought in Jaka Bijol and Sebastiaan Bornauw to further enhance their defensive options, but Rodon and Struijk have done nothing to lose their place in the team.
However, it gives Farke a chance to make changes to his defence if things are not working out, and their backline needs to hold up if the Whites are to give themselves a chance of survival this season.
