Credit: Tung Manh Phan, Breaking Media

James Barker

Tue 26 May 2026 16:40, UK

Leeds United will be extremely happy with the vast majority of the transfer business they did in the 2025-26 season.

Elland Road chiefs struck a nice balance of being ambitious, but also sensible in how they approached the market this past term.

Whilst we’ve seen numerous promoted teams in recent years throw crazy money around in order to try and give themselves the best chance of staying up, Leeds didn’t really do that.

Instead, they acquired a good blend of proven and senior players with some young, developmental talents, and many of them were hits.

MOT Leeds News takes a look back across every new signing Leeds made in 2025-26 and grades them out of 10, starting from defence, and then working our way through midfield and attack respectively.

Leeds had mixed success with 2025-26 defensive signings

Starting with the goalkeeper position, Leeds made one new addition in this department, and that was the signing of Lucas Perri.

Joining in a deal worth a reported initial fee of £13.9million from Lyon, the Brazilian was expected to be the Whites’ number one shot-stopper of the future.

However, the 28-year-old lost his starting role in early January to Karl Darlow, and now there are major questions over his long-term future at Elland Road. Three.

At centre-back, Leeds signed two new players in this position in the form of Jaka Bijol and Sebastiaan Bornauw respectively.

Starting with Bijol, the 27-year-old enjoyed an impressive debut campaign in West Yorkshire after joining for around £15m, despite missing a few games with a hamstring injury. Eight.

Over to Bornauw, he joined from Wolfsburg for a little over £5m and would only make 12 Premier League appearances last season, but the 27-year-old looks like a solid backup player to have. Five.

Now to the full-back spot, where the Whites snapped up two new recruits in James Justin and Gabriel Gudmundsson respectively.

Beginning with Justin, acquiring his signature for a mere £8m was one of the bargain buys of the Premier League season, as the versatile defender proved to be an invaluable Swiss Army Knife at the back, and his performances took many by surprise. 10.

As for Gudmundsson, the left-back was brought in for a fee in the region of £10m, and despite a hamstring injury ending his season early, the Swede was superb last term, and could evolve into one of the best in his position in the top flight next term. Nine.

Leeds got their midfield recruitment spot on

Moving into midfield, let’s take a look at the two central midfielders brought in to bolster Leeds’ engine room: Anton Stach and Sean Longstaff.

Beginning with Stach, the 27-year-old was signed in a £17.4m deal with Hoffenheim, and the German would soon establish himself as one of Daniel Farke‘s best and most important players.

A dead ball specialist and a brilliant creative force through the middle of the pitch, Stach is going to be a foundational piece of Leeds’ Premier League plan over the coming years. 10.

Then there’s Longstaff, who was brought in from Newcastle United for an initial £12m, and the 28-year-old proved to be a shrewd an important rotational piece in Farke’s team.

His added time equaliser away at Bournemouth was one of the moments of the Whites’ season, and he always seemed to step up and play well when called upon, even if he couldn’t quite win a consistent starting role. Nine.

Leeds hit on three forwards and miss with one

Finally, let’s take a look at the four forwards who were signed this past season: Facundo Buonanotte, Noah Okafor, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha respectively.

Starting with Buonanotte, the 21-year-old attacking midfielder joined on loan from Brighton in the winter window, and was Leeds’ only new addition in January.

However, the Argentine international played just 81 minutes of Premier League football, and when his big chance to make an impression arrived against Birmingham City in the FA Cup, he failed to take it. One.

Then we’ve got Okafor, who signed in an £18m deal from AC Milan, and despite dealing with some injury issues in 2025-26, the Swiss international proved himself to be a very classy player for the Whites, scoring eight times and providing three assists in all competitions.

At 26, he’s someone that should continue to improve over the next few years, and his versatility enables him to play anywhere across the forward line too. Nine.

Next is Calvert-Lewin, whose free transfer after being released by Everton was undoubtedly one of the pound for pound signings of the 2025-26 Premier League season.

Calvert-Lewin finished the year as Leeds’ top goalscorer with 14, and whilst he didn’t make England’s World Cup squad, his performances at Elland Road put him firmly back in the Three Lions picture. 10.

Finally, we’ve got Nmecha, who was another free transfer after being released by Wolfsburg.

The 27-year-old didn’t enjoy the same success as Calvert-Lewin, but his seven goals and three assists in 37 appearances across all competitions marked a solid return for the German, and has proven himself to be a good backup option. Seven.