Leeds United’s worst-ever deadline day signings: Isaac Schmidt and Luciano Becchio replacement
Leeds United have had their fair share of howlers over the years when it comes to transfers.
Deadline day is no exception, as Leeds have scrambled to bring in some last-minute deals in an attempt to bolster their squad over the years, with some of them backfiring.
With Daniel Farke wanting to reinforce his squad, Leeds could be set to bring in more new faces on deadline day, with the Elland Road faithful hoping any potential new arrivals do not end up on a list like this in the future.
With that being said, MOT Leeds News go through five of the worst deadline day signings in Leeds’ history.
Isaac Schmidt
Schmidt recently left Leeds to join Werder Bremen on loan after just one season in West Yorkshire.
The Swiss full-back was brought in to provide cover and competition for the likes of Jayden Bogle and Junior Firpo, but ended up being a spectator for the majority of United’s Championship-winning campaign.
Schmidt, 25, did not start a single Championship game last season, and when he did play in pre-season before the Whites’ Premier League campaign, he proved not to be at the level required.
With Farke evidently not trusting the defender, Schmidt has been shipped out of Leeds after just one lacklustre season.
Diogo Monteiro
Monteiro joined Leeds with a big reputation back on deadline day in January 2023.
During his spell as director of football, Victor Orta invested heavily in bringing in players to join the youth teams with the ultimate aim of them progressing to the first team.
The Portuguese defender was just one of many to fit Orta’s vision for what Leeds could look like in the future after joining from Swiss outfit Servette FC.
Despite featuring regularly for the Under-21s, this was of no use to the average supporter who stood in the South Stand on a matchday as Monteiro left Leeds to join Portuguese side FC Arouca earlier this summer.
Pawel Cibicki
Cibiki joined the Whites back in 2017 and was eventually shifted off the books in January 2020.
During this time, he made just 10 appearances and failed to find the back of the net as the Swedish striker was said to have developed a gambling addiction whilst in West Yorkshire.
Cibiki was unable to force his way into Thomas Christiansen’s Leeds side that ultimately started their Championship campaign brightly before ultimately burning out.
- Christensen was sacked, with Leeds sitting 10th in the table
- The Whites were top of the table in September as the Elland Road faithful got giddy regarding a potential promotion push
A reported £1.5million transfer fee, as well as a £17,000 a week salary, proved to be a waste of United’s resources as they looked to be perpetually trapped in the second-tier at the time.
Jordan Botaka
Botaka joined Leeds in October 2015 for a reported fee of £500,000.
- Botaka joined on an initial two-year deal for Leeds, with a club option to extend this deal by a further two years
- After his first season at Leeds, the winger was loaned out to Charlton
- To no one’s surprise, the deal was not extended as Botaka left the Whites permanently in 2017
The winger started three games in his loan Championship campaign in West Yorkshire and failed to find the back of the net in what turned out to be a forgettable tenure at Leeds for the winger.
Steve Morison
Every Leeds supporter’s heart was smashed into a million pieces when cult hero Luciano Becchio made the move on deadline day to join Norwich and fulfil his dream of playing in the Premier League in January 2013.
For their Argentine talisman, Leeds received a fee as well as Morison, and on paper, it seemed to be an attractive proposition for the Whites.
Whilst Morison struggled at Norwich, he had previously thrived at Millwall and the target man looked set to be Leeds’ main man to hopefully fire them into the playoffs.
41 appearances saw the striker net on only five occasions before he was loaned out to Millwall, before returning to East London permanently in 2015.
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