Sensational return mooted; Kinnear makes vow

The summer transfer window may have only just closed, but that just means we are getting closer to the January transfer window when the crazy merry-go-round kicks off yet again.

For Leeds United, the summer window was a challenging period to navigate. At certain points, the situation was looking more than a little bleak, but some last-minute deals and some good work by Daniel Farke left the Whites in a much better position than many thought was possible.

After a stuttered start to their Championship campaign, they’ve started to settle into their new surroundings, and currently lie within the play-off positions.

With the winter window only a few months away, Football FanCast has begun gathering the latest transfer rumours about all the possible incomings and outgoings that you can expect at Elland Road come January.

Who did Leeds sign this summer?

Having dropped out of the Premier League ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, it was only natural for the Whites to find it difficult to keep hold of some of their key assets this summer. However, the club may not have anticipated so many of their new signings to depart so quickly.

That said, Daniel Farke has also seen several players come through the door. The Peacocks have even looked to the Premier League for players to bolster their hopes of instantly returning to the top flight.

Indeed, Leeds have used their contacts in north London to take two players off Tottenham Hotspur on a season-long loan deal, with Joe Rodon and Djed Spence both making the move north over recent weeks.

Welsh international Ethan Ampadu also opted to swap the capital for West Yorkshire earlier in the summer, moving to Elland Road in a deal said to be worth £7m. The 23-year-old has an enormous amount of experience under his belt for a player of his age, primarily from spending a season on loan with Sheffield United in the Premier League and two seasons on loan in Serie A, one with Venezia, and one with Spezia.

That kind of experience should prove invaluable to a Leeds side looking for some stability this season.

The midfield has also been reinforced this summer with Arsenal youth product Glen Kamara joining Farke’s project alongside Bulgarian international Ilia Gruev, who left Werder Bremen after coming through the club’s youth setup.

However, as impressive as the club’s recruitment has been given the circumstances, it’s hard to look past new striker Joel Piroe as the most essential addition to the squad. The Dutch forward has been one of the best players in the Championship for quite some time now.

In his two seasons at Swansea City, the 24-year-old started 83 league games and scored a seriously impressive 41 goals, which just about works out to around a goal every other game – exactly the sort of output Farke will be needing from his attackers if he wants them to get back into the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Who did Leeds sell this summer?

After their relegation to the Championship, Leeds endured something of an exodus of first-team players, all searching for a side that could offer them top-flight football this season.

Despite a swathe of departures over the last couple of months, the Whites have struggled to bring in much in terms of revenue for their assets.

In fact, Leeds’ only significant sale this summer in terms of the fee has been Tyler Adams‘ £20m move to Bournemouth, which has subsequently made up much of the club’s income this summer. While the fee is certainly a healthy one for a player who was just relegated from the top flight, we’re sure Farke would have rather kept the American as he would have been excellent in the Championship.

Unfortunately for the new owners, many of the first-team players signed in the last couple of seasons had clauses in their contracts allowing them to leave on loan should the club be relegated, which is precisely what has happened.

That said, the one positive in terms of exits is that Wilfried Gnonto has remained at the club despite his move to Everton, looking near enough certain at points this summer, meaning the Fake can at least rely on the talented teenager this year as he looks to guide the club back to the Premier League.

Who could Leeds sign in January?

Transfer news regarding incomings at Elland Road have been pretty few and far between following the chaos that unfolded over the summer.

However, Leeds chief executive Angus Kinnear did confirm that funds will be available to Daniel Farke should his squad suffer any injuries:

“Funds, if needed in January, due to injury, will be available. The greater value in January will be from the loan market, (and) have deliberately kept two loan spots free,” Kinnear said at the September meeting of the club’s Supporter Advisory Board.

Following Kinnear’s comments, there has been a sensational link that has emerged over the last few days…

Kalvin Phillips – Manchester City: Well, this one would be pretty remarkable.

The Leeds academy graduate departed Elland Road just over a year ago in favour of a move to Manchester City, but his £45m move hasn’t at all gone to plan. And now, incredibly, a return to West Yorkshire is being mooted.

Speaking on the BBC’s Football Gossip Daily podcast, Daily Telegraph journalist Luke Edwards suggested Phillips would love to go back to his boyhood club. However, he did note that the deal is highly unlikely given that Leeds are in the Championship.

He said (as per the Yorkshire Evening Post): “Everton definitely would be [interested]. Would he want to go to Everton? I think if he had his ideal move, he’d probably go back to Leeds. I mean, he’s a massive Leeds United supporter, he left on really good terms when he left Elland Road.

“I think he’s still in touch with people there, but Leeds are obviously in the Championship. Even Gareth Southgate might baulk at picking a player who’s starting in the Championship every week over a player who’s starting every week in the Premier League.”

It appears the Whites will have to get themselves back in the Premier League if they are to have any chance of bringing Phillips back.

Who could leave Leeds in January?

Sam Greenwood: According to The Athletic’s Leeds United reporter Phil Hay, Championship rivals Middlesbrough have a £1.5m release clause inserted into the deal that has seen them take Sam Greenwood on loan for the season from the Peacocks.

The 21-year-old has only made two starts for his loan side this season but scored his first goal for them against Sunderland on Saturday.

Losing Greenwood for such a small fee certainly wouldn’t help the club’s ambition to get back into the Premier League at the first time of asking this season.

And the club would see no profit from the sale either, as they paid £1.5m for the youngster when they signed him from Arsenal in 2020.

Archie Gray: According to transfer insider Alan Nixon, the 17-year-old is being tracked by Premier League side Crystal Palace.

The Eagles have been long-standing admirers of the England youth international and his journey into the Leeds first team has them on red alert ahead of the January transfer window.

The box-to-box midfielder has featured in all 10 Championship games so far, with eight of those coming from the start.

Ahead of the weekend, the Peacocks currently sit sixth and have an instant return to the Premier League on their agenda, so it appears unlikely they’d be willing to lose one of their key performers.

Should a sale be sanctioned, one would assume it would only be for a substantial fee, and that could deter any interested parties such as the south Londoners.

Helder Costa: Rumours of January arrivals at Elland Road have been pretty quiet thus far, but on the outgoing front, the club announced Helder Costa’s departure on Friday afternoon.

The Whites issued a statement, which read: “LUFC can confirm Helder Costa has left the club by mutual consent, leaving with our thanks, best wishes for the future and knowing he’s always welcome back at Elland Road.”

His four-year spell wasn’t particularly inspiring, though he was part of the club’s Championship promotion-winning campaign in 2019/20.

That summer, after a respectable ten league goal contributions, they were obligated to sign him on a permanent deal from Wolves for a sizeable £16m.

The Angola international made 22 Premier League appearances in his first season after signing permanently before being sent on season-long loan spells with Valencia and Al-Ittihad.

His last appearance for the club came in August 2021 in a 3-0 Carabao Cup victory against Crewe Alexandra.