Leeds United were hit with “lots and lots of frustration” during the transfer window after missing out on signings from Liverpool and Manchester City, according to Angus Kinnear.
The Whites CEO told The Square Ball on 12 September that they had been pursuing Etihad talent James McAtee until Pep Guardiola decided not to let him go, and were ultimately blown out of the water by Brentford when queuing up to loan Fabio Carvalho from Anfield.
Whites fans were frustrated during the transfer window while Daniel Farke publicly expressed disappointment after it closed [Graham Smyth, 2 September], and Kinnear tried to explain the difficulties faced.
He said (23m 40s): “Two of the other names we were looking at, McAtee at Man City, it was thought that he might be released all through the window and then Pep decided to keep him.
“And then Carvalho, who again might have been able to go out on another loan, it might have been a Championship loan or a Premier League loan. We felt we were first in the queue if it wasn’t going to be the Premier League, and he ended up being sold for £27m to Brentford.
“So to strengthen our team and to make it better we have to shop at the highest level possible, and there is lots and lots of frustration.”
Leeds United missed out on Fabio Carvalho and James McAtee
The plight which Kinnear describes is logical and the difficulties of a club that aspires to be in the Premier League but can only offer Championship football are obvious.
He revealed an attempt to sign Aston Villa’s Emi Bendia but the Argentine wasn’t interested in a move to the second tier, which can’t be helped.
What can be helped is the way the Whites seemingly waited until they were in an emergency situation after star players such as Archie Gray, Georginio Rutter and Crysencio Summerville had seen exit clauses triggered before reacting.
It is absolutely valid to point to how complicated the situation was at Elland Road during the summer, where competing influences such as PSR, players’ own ambitions, and other clubs all had to be balanced.
And the club do deserve some praise for landing four important signings before the window closed, but it is hard to escape the feeling that it shouldn’t have come to a late scramble for a second year running.
The brief attempt to sign Sheffield United star Gustavo Hamer came across as ham-fisted, and a late deal for Freiburg’s Rolland Sallai failed even after a fee was reportedly agreed [HITC, 13 September], so the window can only go down as a qualified success unless the new arrivals set the world alight in the coming months.
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