Daniel Farke could begin Leeds United evolution amid latest transfer links

Daniel Farke will be looking to take Leeds United to the next level in 2026-2027.

The German spoke about needing to set new goals at Elland Road if he were to continue on as manager, and those goals can only be achieved with change.

While Farke managed to avoid relegation with the Whites, he did so using a style of play that has not been associated with the 49-year-old.

The Leeds boss enjoys controlling possession and creating chances through controlled transitions and making central overloads.

However, after it failed to work in the opening months of the 2025-2026 season, his decision to use a differing system came up trumps.

Now, though, he could be set to revert to his favoured style of play amid the latest transfer links.

What does Leeds' latest transfer links say about their plans?

Leeds are looking to strentgehn at centre-back but the type of profiles they are being linked with is the interesting part.

The LS11 outfit have been heavily touted for a move for Sporting defender Ousmane Diomande, and now in recent days, Parma's Mariano Troilo.

Both centre-backs are extremely comfortable on the ball, touting high pass accuracy - Diomande at 93 per cent and Troilo at 89 per cent as per Sofascore.

This is of course is in line with what Farke's current options currently average in and around.

However, the interesting part is how well-equiped both are at long-passing.

Baiting the press and then going long is an excellent method of creating those controlled transitions that Farke has previously sought.

Diomande comes in with a 67 per cent success, and completes three long passes on average per game.

Meanwhile, Troilo comes in with a 51 per cent accuracy with 2.1 success per game.

Among Leeds' current squad, the highest is Jaka Bijol at 50 per cent, but he does not possess the same short-passing qualities of the two aforementioned targets.

Who would benefit from the signing of Diomande or Troilo?

If Leeds were to sign the Ivorian or Argentine defender, then the wide attackers would be likely be the highest beneficiaries.

With that long-passing ability, baiting the press would potentially create an opening for the wingers to run into and Diomande or Troilo could then pick them out.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin would then benefit from the wingers getting into space, and would get plenty more chances to score.

If Leeds are to push up the table and away from the relegation battle, they do need to evolve.

Being able to create artificial transitions from the centre-backs is one way Farke could go about it.