The January transfer window may still be over a month away but Daniel Farke has already been asked about what it could look like at Leeds United.
Leeds have seven matches between now and the window opening again, but such is the nature of the Championship, anything could happen in that period.
Graeme Bailey has suggested Leeds’ results over the festive period are likely to dictate how busy it is at Elland Road in January, though only a real downturn in form would bring any kind of panic.
However, that is not to say Leeds’ recruitment team isn’t already working on a list of potential targets, even if it has been all change behind-the-scenes recently.
Gretar Steinsson and Jordan Miles have both left after playing key roles in Leeds’ summer window.
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Farke delivers early January Leeds prediction
Angus Kinnear graded Leeds’ summer business as a B+ back in September and in fairness to the Whites chief executive, that is looking fairly accurate.
Of Leeds’ eight signings, only Isaac Schmidt and Alex Cairns are yet to have any kind of impact, though the former hasn’t really been given a chance, and the latter was always coming in as third choice goalkeeper.
Farke’s one frustration about the window was Leeds’ failure to sign a number 10 and although Brenden Aaronson has performed pretty well, he has started 15 matches in a row and looks in need of a rest.
However, speaking in his pre-Blackburn Rovers press conference, Farke seemed pretty confident Leeds will be in for a quiet window unless something major happens, such as a serious injury.
He said: “Not much is ongoing as I also expect I pretty quiet January. Of course, we have to stay awake in case there is a big injury like we had for example with Ethan and Ilia, we had to react a bit spontaneous so for that, behind-the-scenes our recruitment and scouts are more or less looking at every position.
“You never know if there is going to be a big injury or something like this. If nothing happens, I expect a really, really quiet January because overdoing some things can also bring a group who is tight together and on a good path, without meaning it, to a situation where they lose their togetherness or spirit.
“At the moment, if they deliver like this they deserve to be on the spotlight and we don’t need seven more additions. But again, we will stay awake but at the moment there is no need to hurry anything.
“Sometimes if you overdo too many more incomings just because we are an attractive club, you can also harm your own success. For that, I want a pretty quiet January in case nothing major happens, but we are also prepared until we have to react.”
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What do Leeds need in January?
Based on the options Farke had to bring off the bench against Luton Town, and the fact Junior Firpo, Ethan Amapdu, Ilia Gruev and Schmidt were all missing, the squad is looking very strong.
There aren’t many managers in the division who have the luxury to bring on the likes of Largie Ramazani, Max Wober, Dan James and Mateo Joseph as substitutes.
However, as mentioned previously, attacking midfield does still feel like an area that could be improved, even if it is just to ease some of the load on Aaronson.
A prolific number nine also wouldn’t go amiss either, but Joel Piroe and Joseph look like they could be enough to get through the season.
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