Leeds United are in different hands for this summer’s transfer spending, after having Nick Hammond in a temporary role last term, Jordan Miles is heading up the recruitment strategy this time around.
Leeds don’t know what division they are going to be in next season, with the dreaded playoffs the end result of a gruelling campaign in which Leeds managed a points tally that would have been good enough for the top two in the vast majority of seasons.
Of course, it would be incredibly ideal for incomings and outgoings if Leeds find themselves victorious at Wembley and return to the Premier League, but history doesn’t favour the Whites in the playoffs.
Leeds set for major changes whichever league they are in
The main worry with the summer transfer window is outgoings, with pressure sure to be relieved significantly if Leeds are in the Premier League next term.
Should they fail and face another campaign in the Championship, key sales are going to be sanctioned for some of the star performers this season.
As for incomings, it’s not as though either outcome would bring an overhaul across the board in the lineup, but transfers are going to be required at a fairly significant rate to keep up the same standards or improve.
Dropping into the Championship last season, the 49ers did incredibly well to organise the club and Farke’s side very well given the circumstances.
The bulk of Leeds’ signings came with experience of the Championship and Premier League: Ethan Ampadu, Joel Piroe, Joe Rodon, Djed Spence, Karl Darlow, Sam Byram, Jaidon Anthony, and Connor Roberts all previously playing in the top two tiers of England.
Nick Hammond was key to that as an interim transfer advisor, and changes are surely on the horizon with Hammond now replaced by a permanent appointment in former Aberdeen and West Ham recruitment specialist Jordan Miles.
It’s hard to tell where Leeds would be looking for signings with Miles at the helm, but his time at Aberdeen suggests a date-driven approach via the continent is key – seven of his 15 signings at Pittordrie this season came from outside of the UK.
At West Ham, his first summer window as head of recruitment analysis (18/19) brought 10 signings, and six were from abroad, including all three of the biggest spends.
In 19/20, Pablo Fornals, Tomas Soucek, Sebastien Haller joined as notable coups for the Irons, while 22/23 represented more solid signings from abroad under David Moyes: Gianluca Scamacca, Lucas Paqueta, and Alphonse Areola being the picks of the bunch.
Time will tell if Miles wants to scour the continent for signings or go tried and trusted with English experience, but there’s certainly merit in broadening the search to Europe.
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