Done deals? Leeds boss Christiansen reveals his plans as transfer window edges shut

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Thomas Christiansen admitted he was prepared for a quiet end to the transfer window but backed his Leeds United squad to stay in the hunt for the Championship play-offs despite the club’s limited January recruitment.

United’s head coach said he was “positive” about their chances of a top-six finish after indicating that the transfer window would close at 11pm tomorrow without any further signings. Leeds have added to their first-team squad this month with the £1.5m arrival of left-back Laurens De Bock from Club Brugge and a £4.5m deal with Middlesbrough for midfielder Adam Forshaw but the club look set to draw a blank in their search for a new striker.

United’s board were open to the idea of bringing a new forward to Elland Road before this week’s deadline but have so far failed to find available options who fall within their valuation and wage structure.

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Christiansen, whose resources have been badly affected by injuries and suspensions since the turn of the year, has seen Leeds fall five points behind the play-offs after four league games without a win and will look for his squad to halt that run during tonight’s rearranged game at Hull City.

He and United owner Andrea Radrizzani set a top-six finish as their target for this season, Christiansen’s first as a head coach in England, and the Dane insisted his squad could last the pace, saying: “It has to be strong enough.

“You would always like to have more players because right now you see with the red cards it’s difficult but we have to be positive and I am positive.

“I believe in the players I have and I’ll do the best with what I have.”

Much of United’s business this month has focused on additions to their Under-23 squad, including the arrival of 19-year-old centre-back Pascal Struijk from Ajax on a deal to 2021 yesterday.

Japan international Yosuke Ideguchi was signing for £500,000 from Gamba Osaka early in the window but moved on loan to Spanish second division side Cultural Leonesa for the rest of the season.

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Christiansen refused to close the door on the possibility of deals materialising shortly before the deadline but said: “I don’t think so. You never know. Until the transfer period is done, anything can happen.

“You have to speak to Victor (Orta, Leeds’ director of football) about that. Victor and the board make the decisions about what is possible. Of course I get the information when they have found one but right now this is the situation.”

Leeds lost 30-goal Chris Wood in August following his £15m move to Burnley and United’s other forwards have struggled to match his prolific strikerate. Kemar Roofe is Leeds’ top scorer in the league with eight goals and Pierre-Michel Lasogga has seven after his brace in a 4-3 defeat to Millwall 10 days ago.

United are in the process of working on the signing of Nigerian striker Jerry Mbakogu from Italian Serie B side Carpi but that move is intended to go through at the end of the season and will not bring Mbakogu to England in this window.

Christiansen said: “I would always like to have players who can make the squad better but as I said several times, it’s a difficult moment, especially in the winter market, to sign players.

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“If there had been possibilities then they (the club) would have tried.”

Christiansen took United’s squad to Spain for a five-day training camp last week, putting them through double sessions in an attempt to repair the form which has left them without a win since Boxing Day.

Hull, who lost 1-0 at Elland Road two days before Christmas, are 21st in the table and above the relegation zone on goal difference alone, and Christiansen admitted that a positive result at the KCOM Stadium this evening was crucial.

“This is important now, to respond,” he said. “It’s one of the reasons why we went to Murcia, to prepare for this game in the best way, focusing on that. We didn’t rest a single day. We worked hard to bounce back from the last defeat.

“I don’t want to put the pressure on the players or myself. I just want to take the three points. The good thing is we played against them (Hull) not long ago. It was a bad game from our side but we managed to take the three points. After that game we played much better and didn’t beat our opponent so the lesson you can learn, but we need to perform well.”