Angus Kinnear makes brutally honest admission on Leeds United transfer business
Leeds United are outside the top 100 “most desirable” clubs for a player to join after relegation from the Premier League, Angus Kinnear has said.
Speaking on The Square Ball podcast (12 September), Kinnear responded to a question asking why much of the club’s summer business came in the final days of the transfer window.
After Jayden Bogle’s signing on 20 July, there was a 32-day gap between Largie Ramazani’s arrival on 22 August, with three more deals in the last three days before the window closed on 30 August.
Leeds CEO Kinnear said: “When Leeds were in the Premier League, I think we probably were in the top 15 clubs that people would want to join globally.
“When you drop into the Championship, you’ve got the 20 clubs in the Premier League and the 20 clubs in the top four leagues across Europe who are all ahead of you in the pecking order, so you suddenly become the 102nd, 103rd most attractive club to join.
“That’s why the business increasingly gets done at the end of the window, because you are just waiting on those players.”
Leeds United transfers must pay dividends straight away
Although the Whites may not be many players’ first-choice club as long as they remain in the Championship, a busy end to the transfer window still saw them bring in a plethora of new signings.
Ramazani, Manor Solomon, Ao Tanaka and Isaac Schmidt are all through the doors to bolster the side both out wide and in midfield, but all four must prove they can push the Peacocks towards promotion.
Solomon has already hit the ground running with an assist on his first start against Hull City, whereas Schmidt – the only player still yet to make his debut – is being treated with caution by Daniel Farke.
Unlike Tanaka and Solomon, Schmidt and Ramazani remained at Thorp Arch during the international break, and that should stand them in good stead as Farke’s attention turns to United’s first match back.
Burnley await on 14 September in a clash between two expected promotion challengers, and United’s new arrivals must make a strong impression if they’re to repay Kinnear’s faith.
In other Leeds United news, Mateo Joseph was sent a message of congratulations on social media from a certain Barcelona-based star.
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