Leeds United stubbornness could get them relegated, summer priorities were all wrong
Daniel Farke’s side have picked up four points from their opening four games.
Leeds’ 1-0 defeat to Fulham was cruel, though it can’t be understated how little weight that saying holds in the Premier League.
A cruel defeat is still a defeat, and based on the first four games, there are going to be plenty of them throughout the course of the season.
Gabriel Gudmundsson’s own goal gifted Fulham all three points, and while not directly, he is part of the bigger picture when it comes to the mistakes made by Leeds over the summer.
Leeds blew over 50% of transfer budget on defenders
Leeds had to strengthen their backline, just like Sunderland did.
However, the difference between the two sides and how they went about their summer business is the way that the latter spread their spending across all departments of the squad.
Granted, Sunderland had more PSR room than Leeds, though, if anything, that just amplifies how poor the decision-making was over the summer.
£53million was spent on the Leeds defensive line, and the most concerning thing is the fact that £28m of that was spent on players who are already fringe players at Elland Road.
- Jaka Bijol – £16.4m – 0 PL minutes
- Lucas Perri – £13.8m – 270 PL minutes
- Gabriel Gudmundsson – £10m – 350 PL minutes
- James Justin – £8m – 10 PL minutes
- Seb Bornauw – £5.1m – 0 PL minutes
- TOTAL – £53.3m – 630 PL MINUTES
Jaka Bijol was their third most expensive addition this summer, and yet he has failed to make a single appearance in the Premier League.
For comparison, Leeds spent just £16m to bolster (if you can call it that) their forward line, which remains the biggest concern this season.
Leeds cannot afford to make the same mistakes in January
The summer transfer window closed two weeks ago, and yet we are already talking about what Leeds need to do in the winter window; that speaks volumes.
Given the bids made for the likes of Igor Paixao and Rodrigo Muniz, there is nothing to suggest Leeds have maxed out PSR for the year, meaning they should be able to rectify the concerns in the next window.
Quite frankly, it might be too late by then based on the early signs, but if not, it is crucial that the 49ers rectify the mistakes they made in the summer.
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