In a summer that has seen the sale of many commodities leave Elland Road, along with many fringe players, we take a look at each individual deal that has been incoming or outgoing at Leeds United.
Leeds ended the season narrowly missing out on automatic promotion, finishing third in the Championship table and ultimately losing out in the play-off semi-final against Derby County.
Since that time, the club have secured the extended stay of manager Marcelo Bielsa, for another year at least, along with his coaching team. Something of a big investment given that the Argentine is the highest paid manager in the clubs history.
Leeds have also added to their playing ranks, but first we will look at the players that have left the club this summer…
Jack Clarke- Tottenham Hotspur- £10m
Kemar Roofe- Anderlecht- £7m
Puntus Jansson- Brentford FC- £5.5m
Bailey Peacock-Farrell- Burnley- £3.5m
Samu Saiz- Girona- £2.5m
Mallik Wilks- Barnsley- £1m
Aapo Halme- Barnsley- £1m
Yosuke Ideguchi- Gamba Osaka- £1m
Paudie O’Connor- Bradford City- Undisclosed
Liam Kitching- Forest Green – Undisclosed
Sam Dalby- Watford- Undisclosed
Tom Pearce- Wigan- Undisclosed
Clarke Oduor- Barnsley- Undisclosed
Tyler Denton- Stevenage- Free
Oliver Sarkic- Burton Albion- Free
That is fifteen players sold, the club also loaned out two payers in…
Lewis Coyle- Fleetwood Town- Loan
Jay Roy Grot- Vitesse Arnhem- Loan
This amount of outgoings has understandably been a cause for concern for the Leeds United faithful, with a £32.5m income (not including undisclosed fees), but the incoming players would appease any worry… right?
Well, considering a circa £35m income, to guesstimate on undisclosed fees, let’s see just how much the Leeds United hierarchy laid out on new recruits…
Helder Costa- Wolves- (Season Loan with obligation to buy at £15m)
Liam McCarron- Carlisle United- Undisclosed
Jack Harrison- Manchester City- Season Loan
Jack Clarke- Tottenham Hotspur- Season Loan
Ben White- Brighton and Hove Albion- Season Loan
Illan Meslier- Lorient- Season Loan
Eddie Nketiah- Arsenal- Season Loan
Seven additions, including one for the development squad, with an outlay commitment of £15m regardless of which division they’re en come June 2020.
Fans see those figures and believe that the powers that be have not invested heavily enough, but with the club vigorously biding by FFP standards, they needed to accrue losses from previous campaigns.
When you look at the players they have lost, in a first team capacity, they have brought in replacements, up for debate on the standard of those replacements but in some cases they are regarded as upgrades.
So, should Leeds United supporters be worried about the coming season or is this really very shrewd business by the owner and his team?
Results will dictate just how shrewd this business is, but the teams performance in the first game of the season should give the fans hope that continuity from last season is evident.
