Nick Hammond remains at Leeds United ahead of January transfer window - Graham Smyth

Nick Hammond still appears to be part of the management team at Leeds United as the Whites prepare for the January transfer window, according to Graham Smyth.

The Yorkshire Evening Post journalist reported on Saturday (19 November) that Hammond remains at Elland Road with no plan from either side to part company, despite only joining the Whites on an interim basis originally.

Hammond was appointed as an interim football advisor in June with a view of helping recruitment during the summer transfer window, with the Whites intending to find a permanent new director of football by October, but no such appointment has yet been made.

It appears as though Hammond is working alongside Grétar Steinsson and there is an expectation that Leeds may look to target loan additions when the window opens, with the pair already likely identifying available talent at Premier League clubs.

If it isn't broke

Leeds United pulled off some incredible business during the summer transfer window and between Hammond, Steinsson, the 49ers and Daniel Farke, the Whites now have a squad that is more than equipped to challenge at the top end of the Championship.

The additions of the likes of Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rodon, Djed Spence and Joel Piroe added some much-needed quality to Farke's to ensure that it was capable of sustaining a promotion push for the entirety of a long Championship season.

Leeds are unlikely to want to stray too far away from the recruitment model that served them so well in the summer, as it makes sense that they would be keen to keep Hammond around Elland Road in the build-up to the January transfer window.

It's unlikely that the Whites will be too active in January as they spent heavily in the summer and don't desperately need reinforcements in many positions on the pitch, but with a couple more additions of quality, they will increase their chances of beating Leicester and Ipswich to those top two places.

Hopefully, the window can be as successful as the summer and the Whites can build from their excellent start to the campaign.

In other Leeds United news, Archie Gray has sent a one-word message to Wilfried Gnonto after his performance for Italy Under-21s