Speaking recently on a video posted by Leeds United Live on Facebook, Beren Cross claimed that he does not believe the club will be overly active in the January transfer window.
Following a summer transfer window in which Leeds signed the likes of Rodrigo, Diego Llorente, Raphinha, Robin Koch and Joe Gelhardt, as well as making the loan deals of Illan Meslier and Helder Costa permanent moves, in addition to re-signing Jack Harrison on a new loan deal, Marcelo Bielsa’s side got off to a decent start in their first Premier League campaign for 16 years.
Following a spirited 4-3 defeat to reigning champions Liverpool in their opening fixture, Leeds then bested Fulham 4-3 and Sheffield United 1-0, before earning a very respectable 1-1 draw against last season’s runners-up, Manchester City.
However, over their next four fixtures, the club suffered three defeats, which has left them languishing in 15th place in the Premier League table.
Despite this slump in form, Cross, speaking on a video posted by Leeds United Live, did not appear to be of the belief that United will be particularly active in the January transfer window, claiming that he has been informed the club are pleased with the current size of their squad.
He said: “From what we’re told, they’re very, very happy with the squad size. We’re being told that they’re probably not going to try and do too much, to be honest – unless there is some kind of major injury which puts out a major player for several weeks or months.
“As much as it harms the rumour mill, I really don’t expect they’re going to do much, to be honest. I think they are very, very happy. They spent a sizable amount of money [over the summer transfer window] and the aim of that was to build a squad which was built for several years, not just for one season.”
Do you agree with the idea that Leeds do not need to sign anyone in January?
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TIF Thoughts on Beren Cross’ comments regarding the club’s January transfer window plans…
From Cross’ comments, it is clear that the journalist is not expecting Leeds to be very active at all in the January transfer window, as their plan over the summer window was to build a squad for the future, which, if this line of thinking continues, suggests that they will not be drawn in to reactionary signings in January, should their league form not pick up.
In our opinion, this is a sensible approach, as, if Leeds are indeed content with the ability of the players they invested in over the course of the summer, it would be wise to allow these signings as much time as possible to settle into the squad, while also providing them with invaluable Premier League experience, which will allow them to develop as players, in comparison to stunting their growth by potentially signing a more experienced player who could immediately slot into the team ahead of them – with the hope of a short term improvement in results.