Leeds United boss Daniel Farke calls on 49ers assistance after summer spent questioning Elland Road transfers

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Leeds United manager Daniel Farke's distancing of himself from financial matters following the closure of this summer's transfer came as something of a surprise at Elland Road last weekend.

The German had spent the majority of the summer deflecting questions about incoming business with the insistence that transfers would only be discussed upon their completion, while heralding the club's 'key people' in their endeavours to bestow him with a squad capable of challenging for promotion. Then, following the completion of the summer window, Farke took the opportunity to call on his superiors for assistance in answering why Leeds did not pursue a move for a designated No. 10.

"I'm a sportsman, and I concentrate on sports and the quality of the players," Farke said following Leeds' victory over Hull City and the window's closure a day earlier.

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"For me, it was such a busy window in order to prepare [for] the games, after many outgoings and new incomings, it also was pretty busy, also to analyse potential new signings and give my thoughts on - I'm not an accountant."

Leeds' £40 million sale of Archie Gray - which the club appeared reluctant to complete after the June 30 accounting deadline, suspected to be for reasons relating to Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) - became a key issue throughout the summer period. Because no definitive answer was provided by those within the Elland Road hierarchy, it was left to Farke to navigate questions relating to Gray's sale and whether it was PSR motivated.

"I can't tell you right now how exactly the situation looks like, what we would have been capable to spend," the manager added last Saturday, answering a question relating to Leeds' PSR headroom and incoming deals. "We spent money, lots of money like on the transfer of Joe Rodon, for example, and also a bit on Jayden Bogle. If it would be possible to spend even more? I can't tell you, because it's also not my topic.

"I'm not there in order to make the the key decisions. I'm there to identify the targets that are possible with the money set we are allowed - I'm allowed - to spend and I try to make the best out of this, to bring the best potential players together with our persons in the background who work on transfers.

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"But it's not up to me to decide to spend the money or something like this. So for me, it's always to work with the team and work with the group of players that we have and to get the best out of the group that we have. And this is my topic, and for that, I'm not an accountant. I'm a manager, I'm a coach, and this I try to fulfill it with all my passion," the manager finished.

Farke appeared to be suggesting there are people, perhaps those 'key people' behind the scenes he spent much of the summer referencing, better suited to answering window queries as a whole and why certain decisions were made. Farke's post-window comments seemed to suggest his view was that the squad could do with a No. 10 in order to replace Georginio Rutter's creativity, but that the club's position differed.

The floor has been opened to the 49ers hierarchy and Elland Road boardroom, should they so wish to make good on their commitment to communicating with supporters about decisions taken during the past few months, because if it wasn't clear before, Farke made it so: that is not his topic, but it is someone's.

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