Leeds United explanation for transfer window as Farke reveals reasons behind lack of signings

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Leeds went into the window warning fans that it would be a quiet one but the possibility of a new arrival or two remained even to the final days. Farke had three positions in mind for strengthening - centre-back, number 10 and striker - but the return to fitness of Pascal Struijk eased concerns over defensive cover.

That left a number 10, with Farke admitting it would be beneficial to add a player with a different profile to Brenden Aaronson, and a centre forward. Patrick Bamford's ongoing hamstring issue led to an approach for Cameron Archer at Southampton but it was knocked back by the Saints.

The deadline came and went without incomings but Farke insists that while they did explore the possibilities in the loan and permanent market, he leaves the window behind perfectly content with what he's got.

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"I never comment on any details," he said. "Overall I predicted a pretty quiet window, in the end it turned out to be a very quiet window. We can move on and concentrate on football. In general the main headline about our window is I trust my group. That means we're sitting after two thirds of the Championship season, beginning of February in top position. With 63 points after 30 games. This group has managed to be in this position and I don't see one reason why this group shouldn't be able to finish in a top position."

It's fair to say transfer deadline day is not as exciting for Farke as it is for sections of the sport and the media and he believes the lack of panic at Leeds in the final days and hours is a reassuring sign.

"Twenty years ago if you wanted a bit of suspense you were watching a James Bond movie," he said. "Now we're in front of the breaking news, a reporter here at the training ground, two hours to go, some rumours. I'm not a big friend of this. It's not my way to do business. It feels like you're on the stock exchange, waiting for the last second to buy or sell. I don't think business should be done under time pressures if you're in a healthy position. Sometimes you can't avoid it if there's a late injury. In my first transfer window and we had big trouble after relegation we had to do some business in the last hours and had a game the next day and you didn't know who shows up for this game one day before. It's never a healthy position. I don't like to do really late business. There's always madness and craziness, players offered by agents to 20 clubs around Europe because they want to earn some money and the player's first comment is a childhood dream to play for this club.

"If you analyse the top leagues, Liverpool has been top of the table and their business? Not at all. Was it a pretty busy window in terms of incomings? Not at all. Bayern Munich? No incomings. LaLiga, Real Madrid, no incomings. It's a sign, if you don't have to use the January window or late moves, that you're more or less in a healthy position. It's not a guarantee of success or that you'll win the league. You need a bit of luck in terms of injuries but if you don't have to do much business it's normally a good sign. For that I'm quite delighted I have to say."

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Farke's policy is never to speak publicly about business until it's done so he would offer no comment on the approach for Archer or links to Adam Armstrong, who eventually went to West Bromwich Albion, but he did reveal that Leeds were active in the window in terms of rejecting offers and exploring possible incoming moves. That's where they met with difficulties, however and some of those stemmed from the success they have had on the pitch so far this season. Others were market conditions.

"I was lucky a few times in January in a similar position, leading the league, and it has more or less two effects," he said. "The first is that your players attract other clubs and the second is that it's difficult to improve and strengthen your own squad. This was always the same in my whole coaching career. You're a bit more in the spotlight and it attracts interest from other clubs. This was for me one thing that was important, to block all the interests and not speak about selling a key player. We managed to do this. There were a few approaches for our players but we blocked this because we wanted to keep the core group.

"The second thing is it's always difficult to improve and strengthen if you're sitting top. In such a position you do many things right and don't have a problem if there's not a big injury. Who should then strengthen your team? First in January the options are limited and sometimes a loan player is available but if we're really honest which loan player should strengthen a team top of the table. You have to go one from a higher level. The Premier League is sometimes possible but if a player is available on loan there's a reason. He doesn't belong to the core group of the 17, 18 players who are important for his side and hasn't played. Either it has to do with quality, personal reasons, perhaps a fall out with the manager or players coming back from injury. You can just loan out a player who is not in his full rhythm, not in his confidence or a key player. If we're really honest if a player who doesn't make it into the top 17, 18 in a Premier League squad in the bottom half, does he really improve us, sitting top and wanting to play in the Premier League, if he's not playing? Difficult. There has to be a big coincidence. Perhaps a player from the top half of the Premier League, but if Liverpool, Chelsea, Man City loan a player out it's when you can more or less guarantee game time? How can we guarantee game time?

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"We spoke about the positions. How can I guarantee game time? So I drop Joe Rodon or Pascal Struijk? Should I guarantee that I'll definitely drop Brenden Aaronson who is working miracles for us? No, there's proper competition. You can do this if you have an injury or you're sitting ninth and can guarantee gametime. But not if the team is doing that well, as we did in recent months. To find a loan option who is improving your squad, willing to come, knowing just three months with lots of competition and hard to get gametime, is very difficult.

"The only other option is to go for some permanent transfers, and we have explored this but quite option the options who could improve your squad are a bit overpriced and too expensive. It makes the January market so difficult.  This is why in the end not all the boxes we spoke about were ticked and we didn't do any business."

Some of Leeds rivals, like Sheffield United, had a far busier time of it in the transfer window. The Blades added seven to Chris Wilder's injury-hit squad. Farke has credited Leeds' decision makers for not behaving in a reactive way in the market as others made signings.

"I don't think you should do business if the others are doing business," he said. "I'm happy I work for a club doing business in a smart, sustainable way. I just want to work for a club who is not buying success but building success and developing to be successful. I would never have ruled out a lucky coincidence to find a perfect specialist but it didn't turn out to be because not all the boxes were ticked because we either didn't find the right player or the right player was too expensive.

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"I totally trust and back my players. This team and this group was good enough to be the best team in the league so far and this was with Ilia Gruev and Ethan Ampadu out for months, Pascal Struijk, Patrick Bamford with injuries. I don't see why we should be scared for the final third of this season. It was clear even before for me."

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