Leeds United post transfer window reality - Brownhill, set-piece coach and Gnonto chance

Farke and the club's recruitment department hoped that the squad would look at least a little bit different to how it does today, but last week's near-thing with Facundo Buonanotte and the failed deadline day move for Harry Wilson means they go into the rest of the Premier League season's first half without that kind of right winger/number 10. They go without a second set-piece specialist, too, and will rely on Anton Stach and the likes of Jack Harrison in a bid to profit from their beefed up presence in opposition penalty areas.

The club's hierarchy expressed disappointment at not getting the final piece of the puzzle but insist that one final signing, citing Wilson as an example, would not have been a season-defining factor. Managing director Robbie Evans, speaking to the local media less than 24 hours after the close of the window, voiced extreme doubt that they would find that very specific thing they were looking for in the free agent market.

Josh Brownhill dilemma

The obvious name to throw at them is Josh Brownhill. A goalscoring central midfielder, rather than a winger, and someone who could help with the set-piece delivery issue. Brownhill is versatile, though that extends mainly to the depth of his positioning in central roles rather than being able to play as a winger. He's an 8/10 really. There are reasons he's an unlikely target for Leeds, however, as things stand. They do have midfield injury issues currently with both Ethan Ampadu and Ao Tanaka out. Once they get fit, however, would Brownhill get in the team ahead of the other 8s? Sean Longstaff, Anton Stach and Tanaka would make life difficult on that front.

Another consideration is a financial one. Had Leeds signed Wilson on deadline day they would have been able to amortise the transfer fee across the length of his contract, but some other Profitability and Sustainability Regulation manoeuvres would still have been necessary. A January or June player sale, perhaps, if commercial moves or Premier League finishing place prize money didn't sort it for them. The problem with planning to sell in order to fix a PSR issue is the risk that you can't find a buyer or the right fee for the players you'd be content to lose and are then forced to part with a more important player. It was a bridge Leeds appeared happy to have to cross in order to get Wilson. But Brownhill? He turns 30 in December and is likely seeking a big wage and a contract of decent length. Leeds will have to weigh up the PSR headache, the wage they would have to stomach beyond this season for a player who might not feature that much, versus their current needs and his ability to make a real difference. Should Tanaka's absence turn into a more long-term thing then there would undoubtedly be a case for a long, hard look at Brownhill. Especially in a squad that currently looks light in terms of goals. He won’t be a free agent forever.

Gnonto’s moment

In the event that they go with what they've got, someone is going to have to step up in a big way when it comes to creativity. A current winger will need to be the difference maker that Igor Paixão would have been. Willy Gnonto should be skipping to work every day now that Leeds have five wingers instead of six. He's only 21 but he's an experienced 21. This is his time to take all that potential and turn it into goal contributions. Last season should have frustrated the life out of him, playing third fiddle so often to Dan James and Manor Solomon, even if he fired in nine goals and added six assists. There's more in him. There's a main man spot to be earned and an Italian senior international place to be won back.

Farke will obviously need to coach the very best out of his wide players. It might not be what some Leeds fans want to hear, but might it be possible that the German and his patient, arm-around-the-shoulder approach can bring Harrison back to life? One swallow does not a summer make, yet even Harrison's fiercest critics will admit he had something about him against Newcastle United. It was Farke who turned a confidence bereft Georginio Rutter into an almost unplayable number 10, totally transforming the Frenchman's Leeds United experience. It took time before Rutter could show the discipline his manager wanted to see in certain situations but once he proved he could be responsible with the ball even in his own half he was able to flourish. Maybe Jayden Bogle would always have overcome his sticky start at Leeds to make a complete mockery of his £5m transfer fee, but Farke surely deserves some credit too for the way the right-back continues to develop. Any progression from where Harrison has been over the last year could be huge for Leeds.

Set-piece development

And Leeds will have to wring goals out of every possible source. Set-pieces are an obvious place to go looking, when you're blessed with height and physicality. It is not ideal that they were unable to bring in another specialist taker. That does not mean they can afford to disregard the idea of profiting in a much bigger way from the dead ball. The YEP understands that the club are in the process of hiring a set-piece coach for the first time in Farke's reign. There has been a greater focus placed on the area already with analysis and coaching. Farke's obsessions will probably always be possession and structure because those fundamental principles are his way. They brought him his league titles. But no stone can be left unturned when you're looking for every possible avenue of joy as a newly-promoted Premier League club.

Brentford are among the poster boys when it comes to going all in on corners and free-kicks. Keith Andrews was handed a lot of credit for their record at both ends of the pitch last season. They conceded just twice from set-pieces, three fewer than anyone else in the top flight, and only four teams outscored their 13 from dead balls - Arsenal [14], Crystal Palace [16], Aston Villa [16] and Nottingham Forest [17]. Leeds also scored 13 from set-pieces last season, thanks in part to the cheat code that was Joe Rothwell and his deliveries. It was only enough for 11th place in that particular table, but in the Championship thanks to their technical superiority and possessional dominance they were much more likely to find the net from open play. Even if a set-piece coach can add some ingenuity, new routines and even dark arts to add five to the goals scored column this season, that would feel like a win. It might even help bring a couple of wins. Every goal and every point will be precious. This will not be a 95-goal, 100-point season.

Defensive responsibility

What the transfer deadline day miss also means is that defensive solidity, one of the cornerstones of their entire window strategy, is going to be more important than ever. Lacking something up top brings a danger of players further back down the pitch becoming disillusioned, because they can set up perfectly, hold their positions and defend for their lives but if possession is not turned into goals at the other end then wins will be hard to come by and that could quickly harm morale and team spirit. But if a team looks like it will have to fight and scrap to score goals - and this appears to be Leeds' reality - then keeping clean sheets will be all the more important. It will give them a chance. The clean sheet against Everton meant that when a penalty was correctly awarded, Lukas Nmecha's goal would be worth three points. The clean sheet against Newcastle meant that Leeds went into the final few minutes with an opportunity to turn a point into three. They couldn't manage it but four points from three is a cracking start, regardless of what was sandwiched between those two results.

The 'what now' for Leeds is incredibly straightforward. Everyone doing absolutely everything between now and the next transfer window to ensure the summer one defines the first half of the season in a positive way. Whatever the club's hierarchy, Farke, his staff and the players can do to stay competitive for as long as humanly possible is exactly what they must do. That was always going to be the case, Wilson or no Wilson.