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The transfer window has finally come to a close, and the entire footballing world can breathe a sigh, and depending on your club that’s a sigh of relief or a sigh of frustration. Leeds were B.U.S.Y. this transfer window, wheeling and dealing players in and out of Elland Road. Below, a complete list of guys we let go or sold, guys we brought in, loaned out, and loaned in. I’m going back as far as right before Leeds published a retained list after the 2016/17 season when youngsters Billy Whitehouse and Jack Vann were released from the club
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OUT
Chris Wood- Burnley €16.4 Mill
Charlie Taylor- Burnley €5-7 Mill
Liam Bridcutt- Forrest €~1 Mill
Marco Silvestri- Chievo Verona €undisclosed
Jack Vann- Harrogate Town €free
Billy Whitehouse- FA
Jordan Botaka- Sint-Truiden €free
Ross Turnbull- FA
Giuseppe Bellusci- Palermo €free*
Lee Erwin- Kilmarnock €free*
Rob Green- Huddersfield Town €free*
Toumani Diagouraga- €free*
Souleymane Doukara- Osmanlispor €free*
*One thing with the new Thomas Christiansen regime, he isn’t shy about releasing players. I think we all could say we wish we got at least a little money out of (any of these) Bellusci, Diagouraga, Doukara, Erwin, or Green. However, good on the man that he’s willing to let go of guys to go to other clubs, even if a fee couldn’t be agreed upon. At least, I hope that's what went on.
Charlie Taylor was the first player the club got money from, as the Whites and Clarets agreed on a fee for the player before the two sides went to a tribunal. Marco Silvestri made a move back home to Italy, joining Chievo Verona after the Whites brought in German goalkeeper Felix Wiedwald. He was reportedly still in TC’s plans, but last years captain Liam Bridcutt left the club for 1st team football at Nottingham Forrest. Considering Leeds brought in 50 million midfielders to kick start the legendary Christiansen 2-7-1 formation, he won’t be a huge loss. And then there’s Chris Wood. We’ve talked his move to death lately, so in case you didn’t know, no one faulted the Kiwi for joining a PL team, but Burnley? That’s all that needs to be said there.
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IN
Pontus Jansson- Torino (officially) €3.8 mill
Samu Sáiz- SD Huesca €3.5 mill
Hadi Sacko- Sporting Lisbon B €2.5 mill
Ezgjan “Gjanni” Alioski- FC Lugano €2.5 mill
Mateusz Klich- FC Twente €1.7 mill
Jay-Roy Grot- NEC Nijmegen €1.6 mill
Paweł Cibicki- Malmö €1.6 mill
Conor Shaughnessy- Leeds u23 €free
Caleb Ekuban- Chievo Verona €500,000
Felix Wiedwald- Werder Bremen €500,000
Ouasim Bouy- Juventus €free
Madger Gomes- Liverpool u23 €free
Vurnon Anita- Newcastle €free
Andy Lonergan- Wolves €free
On paper, Leeds had a hell of a transfer window (could end the sentence here honestly) when you look at some of the outrageous transfer fees this summer. Pontus Jansson is only the backbone of our defense, prying him away from Torino for under four mill is a steal, and you could say that for a lot of the guys we brought in this window. Sáiz and Alioski have been magnificent signings this summer. The same can’t be said for Hadi Sacko, so let's hope he can square his season around. My steal of the window? Vurnon Anita. A special shout out to the myriad of Academy players we signed, especially from Spain. The future looks bright.
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LOANED OUT
Luke Murphy- Burton Albion
Lewie Coyle- Fleetwood Town
Tyler Denton- Port Vale
Ouasim Bouy- CyD Leonesa
Marcus Antonsson- Blackburn
Mallik Wilks- Accrington Stanley
For some (Murphy, likely Antonsson), these loan moves are make-or-break moves. I’m honestly surprised Murphy wasn’t released, and it’s likely that he will be next year if he doesn’t sign a deal with Burton Albion. For Marcus, his move to Blackburn is all about gaining confidence for next year. If Pierre-Michel Lasogga signs permanently for Leeds, Antonsson could be on his way out. After being left thin after Wood’s transfer and Doukara’s release, Leeds now have Jay-Roy Grot, Paweł Cibicki, Caleb Ekuban, and potentially Lasogga awaiting Antonsson on his return. Nevertheless, now that the window closed, be on the lookout for a regular loan report for these six
LOANED IN
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Matthew Pennington- Everton
Cameron Borthwick-Jackson- Manchester United
Pierre-Michel Lasogga- Hamburg
It’d be pretty flippin’ cool if we were able to sign all these guys on permanent deals. Will that happen? Eehhhhhhhhhh. Likely not. But it’d be cool. Matthew Pennington had a hell of a debut for Leeds before getting injured, but there's a lot of potential in the lad. I don’t think he’d be deemed surplus to requirements at Everton, but if he was ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). Cameron Borthwick-Jackson fills a hole at left-back (not like Pennington didn’t do that too), but signing him on a perm will be hard thanks to him being a Man U kid. He had a terrible loan spell at Wolverhampton, but he’s been pretty solid for us thus far. I’d love to have him permanently. Of the three, I’d be most okay if Lasogga didn’t sign a permanent deal. I like our depth at striker. It's full of potential, albeit unproven. Lasogga is a great one year option, and unless he has a Chris Wood-esque season, one year is all that should be necessary.
How do you feel about Leeds’s summer window? Any position that you feel uncomfortable about? I still feel like we needed another CB. Lemme know your thoughts in the comments!