Daniel Farke outlines Leeds United January transfer stance with 'spirit' warning and injury caveat

Daniel Farke wants and expects a quiet January at Leeds United but recruitment chiefs will ‘stay awake’ to mitigate any unexpected issues.

Come Sunday there will be just one month until the transfer window re-opens with teams already looking to strengthen ahead of the crucial second-half of the campaign. Leeds are well-placed to play their part in another Championship promotion race and after CEO Angus Kinnear revealed failed attempts to sign a No.10 over the summer, it would seem there is room to manoeuvre in West Yorkshire.

But Farke’s squad is already one bigger than expected going into the winter, with Leeds forced to act decisively in signing 34-year-old free agent midfielder Josuha Guilavogui last month after Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev picked up serious knee injuries. And barring similarly unfortunate circumstances, the Leeds boss expects a quiet month in terms of transfer activity.

“Not much ongoing, and also expecting a pretty quiet January,” Farke said on Thursday, ahead of his side’s weekend trip to Blackburn Rovers. “You have to stay awake in case there's a big injury like Ethan and Ilia when we reacted. Behind the scenes our scouts are looking at each and every position because you never know if there will be a big injury blow.

“If nothing happens I expect a really quiet January. Sometimes you can bring a group who are tight together on a good path and without meaning it [by signing players] they lose their togetherness or spirit. If they deliver like this [current form] and earn to be in the spotlight we don't need seven additions.

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“We stay awake but at the minute there’s no need to hurry anything. You can harm your own success. I want a pretty, pretty quiet January. We are also prepared in case we have to react.”

The impressive hit-rate of Leeds’ summer business has left little to be done come January, with virtually every addition contributing and looking sharp. Ao Tanaka has been a revelation since arriving in a £3.5million deal from Fortuna Dusseldorf, while Jayden Bogle, Joe Rothwell, Largie Ramazani and the returning Joe Rodon have all been solid.

Manor Solomon, who signed on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, has taken a little longer to get going but opened his account with a decisive brace in last weekend’s rollercoaster 4-3 win at Swansea City. Similarly, Isaac Schmidt has struggled to break into the team but looked competent from the bench, while the returning pair of Brenden Aaronson and Max Wober have knuckled down.

The only area recruitment chiefs fell short was at No.10, with Kinnear admitting in September they were keen on the likes of Manchester City’s James McAtee, Aston Villa’s Emi Buendia and Fabio Carvalho, now of Brentford. It remains to be seen whether that will be looked at again when the window re-opens, but Aaronson has since made the role his own while Gnonto, Solomon and even Rothwell could operate there comfortably.

Leeds will hope to welcome Ampadu back around the point at which the January window opens, with the midfielder initially pencilled in for a return in the New Year. Farke has admitted he is cautiously optimistic of a slightly earlier comeback, however.