Leeds United job list including key transfers in and out as Jesse Marsch seeks solutions for issues

Jesse Marsch saw progress over the course of a two-week tour of Australia, believing his side to be returning to England ahead of where they were when they arrived Down Under in a tactical sense.

They were also closer, as a group, and clearly enjoying the company of each other and their boss while 10,000 miles from home.

Marsch went out on the tour with no fewer than six new signings thanks to Victor Orta's expeditious work in the early weeks of the summer transfer market. Every manager wants their new additions in the building at the outset of pre-season and Marsch had Rasmus Kristensen, Marc Roca, Tyler Adams, Darko Gyabi, Brenden Aaronson and Luis Sinisterra all on board the flight to the Gold Coast.

Their integration took big steps forward thanks to the fortnight away and the three games they played, although Sinisterra ended the tour with an injury having not yet hit his stride.

A week on from their return to Yorkshire, Marsch's squad is still not complete and nor is his work to get the team exactly where he wants them.

Incoming business

Marsch always wanted a striker going into the window and although Leeds set their sights firmly on Belgian wonderkid Charles De Ketelaere and tabled the highest bid for Brugge, he himself set his sights on AC Milan. For whatever reason, the Serie A champions have not yet got this one over the line and as Marsch alluded to during the tour, that means Leeds' interest is not at an end, but it feels very much like a matter of time before he is no longer an option at all. Meanwhile, Orta has moved on to other targets.

It was also clear from the outset of the summer that Leeds would need to bolster the left-back position although, at least publicly, the club did not acknowledge that need until the tour began.

An injury to Junior Firpo sustained in the Blackpool friendly a few days prior to the departure for Oz gave Marsch and Orta food for thought and although Leif Davis was on the flight, his hopes of securing a place in the squad never really got off the ground. Since returning home the youngster has been sold to Ipswich Town and Leeds are in the market for someone to compete with Firpo for the left-back slot.

The Whites are hopeful of getting one of their targets through the door before the Premier League opener against Wolves on Saturday August 6 but are currently tight-lipped on the identity of targets and whatever deals are being worked on are yet to leak out.

There's still some strengthening to be done at Under 21 level too, but as ever that recruitment may have to play second fiddle to the pressing needs of the senior squad.

Whoever Orta and head of emerging talent Craig Dean identify, those deals are going to have to be financed by the board. The sales of Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha brought in a sum of around £92m but that has already been committed to the additions secured thus far in the window.

Outgoing business

Helder Coast [loan], Kiko Casilla [settlement] and Ian Poveda [loan to buy] are all likely to depart before the window closes. None of them made the trip to Australia. Lewis Bate and Stuart McKinstry are also expected to secure loan moves away from Thorp Arch, if the right offers come in.

Jack Harrison remains a transfer target for Newcastle United but unless Leeds receive a concrete offer that matches their valuation for a winger who has 16 goals and nine assists from 71 Premier League appearances, he'll go nowhere. As was evident throughout the trip to Australia, Harrison forms a big part of Marsch's plan for this season and not only would the offer have to be right, Orta would need an adequate replacement lined up and ready to go. By quoting Newcastle a high price, even around the £35m mark, Leeds are likely to ward off that interest, given the business Eddie Howe still needs to be done and the Magpies’ Saudi owners’ insistence that they will stick to a budget and steadily work their way towards success in the Premier League.Contracts

Joe Gelhardt's new long-term deal was close before the squad left for Australia and the player himself said it was just the last details that needed to be ironed out, so expect that one to be announced sooner rather than later.

There are others who Marsch considers part of the plans, like Crysencio Summerville and Sam Greenwood, who are into the final year of their current contracts, and new deals seem likely for them too.

The interest from elsewhere might prove a catalyst for a new deal for Harrison, too, although his deal runs to 2024 so there is no pressing need to extend just now.On-field

Marsch takes his men into their final pre-season friendly against Cagliari on Sunday with plenty to work on. Defensively the side looked solid enough when dealing with opposition teams playing out from the back, but when Leeds lost the ball in transition they looked shaky in all three of their games. Breakaway chances, from Leeds' own attacks and corners even, were too common for comfort and the head coach will be determined to nip that issue in the bud.

Offensively they created chances Down Under and some of the attacking football looked quite slick but turning good territory and good possession into chances, and chances into goals, is an area requiring improvement.

New players will need time to bed in and develop partnerships but Roca and Adams in midfield have already started to show that they might click quite nicely and Kristensen looks like a player who will relish English football's physical demands.

The left-back problem will require a stop-gap on Sunday, with Pascal Struijk or Harrison expected to fill in, although the latter will be needed further forward thanks to Sinisterra's injury and Dan James' suspension ruling him out of the opener. Marsch will surely want to put his opening day team out for 45 minutes minimum against Cagliari.

Injuries

Marsch will issue updates on his unavailable players on Sunday night but the problems picked up by Adam Forshaw and Sinisterra against Crystal Palace did not initially look like serious ones. Luke Ayling will not be ready yet, having had surgery at the back end of last season but he may not be too far away. Firpo is not expected back in time for the start of the season and Cody Drameh’s hamstring issue in Australia was so minor that he was able to train individually on the night of the Palace game. Stuart Dallas is the long-term injury victim working his way back from a femoral fracture and subsequent surgery.