Many Leeds United fans are questioning why the club did not spend more compared to Sunderland and Burnley during the summer window, especially having tabled a £30m bid for Igor Paixao.
Leeds crossed the £100m border when it comes to incoming signings. That is despite two of the 10 new arrivals joining the club on a free transfer, in new striker duo Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha.
Anton Stach proved to be the most expensive arrival of the summer. Leeds spent £19.9m to land Stach from Hoffenheim, while Noah Okafor was an £18m purchase and Lucas Perri has set Leeds back £15.6m.
Signing Harry Wilson on the final day of the window is likely to have taken spending north of £110m. But according to Sky Sports, Leeds ended the season with a net spend of £103.1m following their 10 arrivals.
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty ImagesHow Leeds’ net spend compares to Premier League rivals
Sky Sports’ reporting might not be wholly accurate, with Sam Greenwood’s £3.5m move to Polish side Pogon not considered. Rasmus Kristensen’s £7.7m move to Frankfurt is also on this year’s books.
LeedsUnited.News calculates Leeds’ spend at £108.5m. However, Sky Sports claims Leeds’ net spend is a total of £103.1, which is the Premier League’s seventh-highest, way above promotion rivals Burnley.
Indeed, Leeds’ net spend according to the Sky Sports report, is even above the likes of Man City and Newcastle. Sunderland and Burnley have been able to spend more thanks to making big-money sales.
Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United lead the way in terms of net spend this summer, while Spurs were in fourth after winning the Europa League. Next came Sunderland and Everton, and then Leeds.
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What did Leeds get wrong in the transfer window this summer…
Ultimately, they left things too late and it culminated in Wilson falling through at the final hurdle. Leeds may feel they did everything they could have done to get Wilson, but it should have been done earlier.
The other issue is that given Leeds’ were the Premier League’s lowest club in terms of incoming fees from player sales, The Whites may have benefitted from a sale. That is despite 13 players leaving the club.
(Now at Rangers)
(Now at Villarreal)
Perhaps, Leeds would have been best selling a player that would have given the club more wriggle room in terms of PSR. Willy Gnonto or Pascal Struijk were identified as possible sales earlier in the window.