Leeds United transfer 'error' spotted after surprise departure

The summer transfer window proved to be a frantic period for Leeds United as they prepared for their big return to the Premier League.

After landing promotion via their dramatic Championship title win, the Elland Road hierarchy wasted little time in backing manager Daniel Farke as they authorised a spend of over £100 million and added ten new faces to their Whites ranks before the window came to a close last month.

The likes of Sean Longstaff, Anton Stach, Noah Okafor and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have already shown why Farke was so keen to add them to his squad as the Whites have claimed eight points from their first six league games to head into Saturday’s home clash with Tottenham Hotspur sitting in twelfth place in the Premier League table.

However, there were also some eye-catching departures from Elland Road during the summer transfer window as Rasmus Kristensen made a permanent move to Eintracth Frankfurt, Sam Greenwood joined Polish club Pogon Szczecin and Junior Firpo returned to former club Real Betis. Patrick Bamford and Josuha Guilavogui departed on free transfers and the likes of Darko Gyabi, Mateo Joseph and Max Wober secured loan moves elsewhere.

Winger Largie Ramazani was also allowed to land a loan move as he made a season-long switch to Valencia and the former Almeria man has made just four substitute appearances during the early weeks of his time with the La Liga club. However, the YEP’s chief football writer Graham Smyth believes the decision to allow Ramazani to move to Spain for the season was an error and stressed the 24-year-old winger could have played a part in Leeds’ return to the Premier League.

What has Graham Smyth said about Largie Ramazani’s loan move to Valencia?

Speaking on the latest episode of the Inside Elland Road podcast, he said: “I was thinking about Largie Ramazani this week because every time the right wing causes a problem or there is an issue with injuries, people say that was a great decision to send Largie Ramazani out. I had a little look and he’s not yet getting much game-time in La Liga, he’s getting little cameos. I think I am still of the opinion I would have kept him as a potential difference maker. Probably not to bring him on when you are two-one up at home to Bournemouth and you’re under a lot of pressure because I think it’s fair to say he doesn’t quite fit what the manager wants defensively, off the ball, concentration-wise.

“We saw it ourselves in Germany, in training, that he was having to react to runs in behind him and he had the physical capabilities to do that because he’s very quick - but in the Premier League, if you allow someone to run beyond you, like we saw at the weekend, it can be very, very hard to react and get back no matter how quick you are and no matter how dynamic you are. I don’t think he’d be playing in games like that but if you’re needing a goal, if Leeds were two-one down in the 98th minute against Bournemouth at home, that’s when you want a Ramazani coming off the bench and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to square it away. Maybe the full season will tell the picture and suggest he’s not the player that some of us think he was and I accept the point he’s not the best defensively - but I still think it was an error to send him away on loan.”

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