Daniel Farke future on the line for 49ers, 4-man Leeds United transfer wish must now be granted
Daniel Farke may be making all the right noises at Leeds United right now but he must be being pushed close to his limit.
The German must take his own share of the responsibility for the poor start to the campaign, just as he does the poor finish to last season, but his bosses have helped put him in an impossible position.
A Whites side which failed to return to the Premier League via the play-off final vs Southampton has been inarguably weakened for the encore with the exits of their top three stars, plus another key man in Glen Kamara.
Missing out on promotion was always likely to mean sacrifices in the transfer market, and much of that is down to the previous Andrea Radrizzani-Victor Orta regime.
But while a sale for Crysencio Summerville seemed likely the reigning Championship Player of the Season has gone in addition homegrown prodigy Archie Gray and now record-signing Georginio Rutter.
Leeds United lose Georginio Rutter to Brighton
In return only Gray’s right-back spot has been re-filled with the arrival of Jayden Bogle, and Farke reportedly now wants four signings from the 49ers before the deadline if he is to challenge for promotion again [The Athletic, 16 August].
Were he an Antonio Conte type of manager there would probably already be fireworks and threats to walk out at Thorp Arch, but the two-time Championship winner is putting a brave face on matters.
But with the season underway and going badly while the days tick down to the deadline his feelings behind the scenes are likely to be far closer to those felt by most of the fanbase, after a second summer of transfer window turmoil at the hands of the dreaded release clauses in so many players’ contracts.
That situation was unpopular enough a year ago when Farke came in during a chaotic situation after relegation, with the takeover going through and players continuing to jump ship throughout the summer.
So for some of those players to be back in the squad despite doubts over their commitment [Graham Smyth, 8 August] while stars depart as exit-clause after exit-clause is discovered is a painful irony for the fans and the manager.
Farke admitted after Rutter’s exit was triggered by Brighton that he wasn’t even made aware of the extent of the clause situation when he took the job, saying [via The Athletic, 16 August]: “I wasn’t aware when I signed the contract (as manager) one year ago that this could happen, but obviously when you look into the details of contracts, you become aware.”
As he acknowledged, a year ago it would have been unlikely for anyone to trigger the Frenchman’s release, and maybe Farke would have taken the job anyway if he had known that half his squad were at risk of being poached if they performed well last term.
But he wasn’t given the full picture then, and he hasn’t been provided with the replacements he needs now, so if things don’t change quickly with the transfer deadline fast approaching the matter could come to a head.
Orta may be the architect of the unwanted exits but the 49ers and Angus Kinnear are now the custodians, so they should have had contingencies in place well ahead of time.
Yet when Kamara was sold to Rennes just a year after arriving from Rangers it was reported by Leeds Live on 13 July that a genuine replacement was to be brought in rather than relying on loanee Joe Rothwell – one still hasn’t arrived over a month later.
Daniel Farke without Crysencio Summerville and Archie Gray
Then, when Summerville’s departure to West Ham was induced for a fee well below a £40million asking price [talkSPORT, 30 July] it was reported by The Athletic on 5 August that Farke wanted three new signings to fill the gaps in before the window closed.
Now Rutter has gone too and that requirement has increased to four – a winger, a midfielder, a full-back, and now another attacker – because none have been secured nearly a fortnight hence.
Yes, there is time to do important business just as it was late on last year, but this summer was supposed to be different.
Joe Rodon’s arrival softened the blow of Gray’s depressing exit, while Bogle improved on the situation further, but it has been downhill from there.
Jonathan Rowe has been on the agenda from Norwich as the nominal Summerville substitute for weeks but despite transfer rivals Marseille and Monaco being blocked from a deal [Santi Aouna, 14 August] the youngster hasn’t arrived at Elland Road.
The 49ers reportedly know the pursuit may not be successful and are eyeing Million Manhoef from Stoke as an alternative [TEAMtalk, 14 August], but time is running out either way.
The goalless draw at West Brom on Saturday 17 August made it no wins from three and if moves aren’t made in the next fortnight this promotion project could go up in flames and Farke may not be around to add a third promotion.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites are in a race against their Championship rivals to sign a new striker.
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