Daniel Farke has already explained why Leeds United won't win nine-team Championship transfer race

Leeds United look set to miss out on reported transfer target Louie Barry but in reality, a move to Elland Road never looked likely.

Barry emerged on the radar of just about every Championship club going into January, having been recalled from an outstanding loan spell at Stockport County by parent club Aston Villa. A tally of 15 goals in 23 league games was evidence enough the 21-year-old had outgrown third-tier football.

Villa are expected to sanction a second loan deal of the season and Leeds have been named among several admirers. Reports last month put the Whites up against Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Burnley in a ‘four-way scrap’ for the promising forward, while Sheffield United also had him on a long list of attacking options.

Sheffield Wednesday, Coventry City and Queens Park Rangers are also thought to be interested but it is Derby County leading the way, according to journalist Alan Nixon. Their advantage over others, particularly those fighting for automatic promotion, is the ability to provide assurances over game-time.

Only one teammate played more League One minutes than Barry during the first half of Stockport’s campaign and Villa will want that level of involvement to continue. Even in stepping up a league, they believe their youngster is good enough to come straight in and establish himself as a key player for anyone.

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Farke’s game-time stance clear

Barry could easily prove good enough to do that but no such promises are made at Elland Road, at least not with Daniel Farke in charge. Leeds have missed out on loan targets in recent windows because they refuse to make game-time guarantees, with starting spots in such a competitive squad earned, rather than gifted.

"As long as I'm responsible in this role for a club, this will always be the case because for me it's not about salaries, CVs, transfer sums, loan or permanent, how highly a player is valued on Transfermarkt or whatever,” Farke told the YEP on the issue in August. “Names are not important to me, just what you deliver and the quality you show on the training pitch and in games, behaviour in the dressing room, identification and commitment.

“It's never a guarantee whoever I bring in that he plays. There will never be a guarantee in the contract, as long as I'm in charge, because I don't think it's healthy in implementing a performance culture - and that's how I work.”

Leeds well-stocked in attack

Leeds boast what many believe is the best squad in the Championship and they almost certainly have the best group of attackers. All four of Manor Solomon, Willy Gnonto, Dan James and Largie Ramazani could stake a claim as the second-tier’s most dangerous winger while Brenden Aaronson has been consistently in the goals at No.10.

Farke doesn’t have a perfect No.9 but he has three options many others in the Championship would welcome. Joel Piroe is among the league’s top scorers, Mateo Joseph an exciting prospect with bags of quality. Patrick Bamford has struggled this year but that he is third choice is evidence of the quality already in place.

Leeds were unsuccessful in a summer loan approach for Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, now at Sheffield United, due to their unwillingness to guarantee regular starts while previous windows have seen them miss out on the likes of Fabio Carvalho. It remains to be seen whether similarly serious interest was present regarding Barry, but if Villa want game-time guarantees, then Elland Road is not the place to find them.