Daniel Farke reveals Leeds United's end to the transfer window strategy as deadline looms with squad light

The German held court with the local media on Tuesday afternoon ahead of Middlesbrough's visit to Elland Road in the Carabao Cup First Round, as transfer talk remained high on the agenda.

Leeds' additions this summer have seen the return of former loanee Joe Rodon from Tottenham Hotspur, back-up goalkeeper Alex Cairns, AFC Bournemouth midfielder Joe Rothwell on loan and Sheffield United full-back Jayden Bogle for £5 million.

Twenty-five players, predominantly made up of youngsters, outgoing loans and fringe members of the Whites' squad, have left Thorp Arch this summer, rendering the Leeds squad among the lightest in the Championship. Farke stated he would like to have '17 or 18' key players in his group during the forthcoming season, but currently counts on just 20 first-teamers total, with a handful of academy stand-outs on standby.

Posed with the question of whether Leeds are simply waiting for superior transfer targets to become available later in the window, as is often the case at this time of year, Farke replied: "I think you can’t judge it in general like this. Sometimes the end of the window, a player is available that was not possible at the start. When you have a bit of time and can be a bit more patient, you should do this.

"The experience says if you have panic buys in July or early August, you don’t have the necessary bullets when really interesting players are available. We have a good core group and only do business when we’re fully convinced. It’s never a guarantee but definitely could be [the case]," he added.

The manager also expressed a preference for permanent additions as opposed to loan signings from Premier League clubs, whilst taking a strong position on never guaranteeing minutes to incoming players, as long as he is in charge, insisting they must prove themselves once setting foot in the building.

Farke's admission, however, that the club chose not to 'panic buy' earlier this summer, does suggest Leeds may be keeping a portion of their powder dry for some permanent, late-window moves. His analogy of needing the 'necessary bullets', widely understood to refer to requisite funds, reinforces this belief that 'really interesting players' may become available in the coming weeks, at which point Leeds make their move, but at present represent too great a financial outlay.

The summer transfer period comes to an end at 11pm on August 30, when Leeds will have already contested three Championship matches and one Carabao Cup tie. Last season, the Whites' slow start in the league ultimately cost them automatic promotion back to the Premier League with Farke stating after the play-off final he hoped the club would hit the ground running in the transfer market.

The 47-year-old still believes the core group at Elland Road has enough to take maximum points from their games before the end of the transfer window and says any new addition must tick several boxes, including assimilating into the squad well, possessing a good mentality, adding quality and generally improving the group's overall ability.