Leeds United continued their impressive pre-season with a 2-0 victory over RB Leipzig at Elland Road on Saturday, giving Daniel Farke another positive result ahead of the new Premier League campaign.
The Whites have also made a statement with their summer recruitment. Harry Wilson arrived on a free transfer before Leeds spent £34m to sign Tarik Muharemovic from Sassuolo.
They then broke their transfer record last week by bringing James Trafford to Elland Road from Manchester City for £45m, with the England international expected to start the season as Farke’s first-choice goalkeeper.
The investment in Wilson and the £79m spent on Muharemovic and Trafford underline Leeds’ ambition this summer. But there is still work to do, and the Whites now look set to miss out on one of Farke’s key transfer targets.
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Julian Brandt was a top target for Leeds, and he visited the club’s training facilities with confidence that he would choose to join the Whites on a free transfer.
However, the German opted to move to Ajax, and Leeds are on the verge of missing out on another top target this week.
Fabrizio Romano confirmed on Sunday that Fulham have reached an agreement over a fee to sign Southampton midfielder Shea Charles this summer.
Leeds were interested in the young midfielder and made three bids. However, they walked away from the negotiations due to Southampton’s financial demands.
Fulham have agreed to pay a fee worth up to £30m, which would make Charles the most expensive player from Northern Ireland, and have also consented to a sell-on clause.
According to The Athletic, Charles will undergo a medical at Fulham today ahead of signing a long-term contract with the London club.
Leeds have moved on to other targets and do not look like signing a player of the Southampton star’s profile before the end of the window.
The Whites do not need Shea Charles or another defensive midfielder
Leeds look well covered in midfield, so there is little reason for them to sell anyone simply to make room for another signing in that area.
Ilia Gruev is unlikely to leave while he recovers from his knee injury, while Sean Longstaff’s encouraging pre-season form suggests he deserves the chance to establish himself at Elland Road.
Anton Stach and Ethan Ampadu look certain to remain important players, while Ao Tanaka’s strong finish to last season means his departure would hardly be popular with the supporters.
There are more pressing areas for Leeds to address, particularly attacking midfield and back-up options in goal, at left-back and up front.
If Farke feels the midfield needs upgrading, that is something Leeds can afford to revisit next summer rather than forcing the issue now.
I am pleased Leeds have missed out on this deal. He is a quality player but mystified why we spent so long chasing. He isn’t needed. Hayden Hackney was far and away the cheaper and better option anyway