Leeds United January transfer window state of play after Buonanotte deal and Strand Larsen call

The Whites completed their first bit of January transfer business on Thursday with a loan move that no one saw coming until the player was in the building. Leeds kept their renewed interest in Brighton attacker Facundo Buonanotte under wraps for good reason. Back in the summer the YEP reported that flight was booked for the Argentine to make his way up to Leeds and complete a move only for the departure time to get pushed back repeatedly. The reason for that was Chelsea’s 11th hour approach to loan the youngster, an offer he considered too good to turn down. But scant involvement soured the move and left Buonanotte pushing for a second chance at going to Leeds, once he discovered they were interested once again.

Buonanotte signed and finalised the loan move from Brighton on Thursday, with news breaking shortly before the deal was concluded and announced. A right winger/number 10 blend was the profile Leeds believed they were missing in the final days of the summer transfer window and their major priority for the mid-winter window. Buonanotte is expected to compete for a starting place and adds something different to Farke’s current attacking options.

But with that ticked off the list, Leeds intend to stay alive to further possibilities.

What else do Leeds need?

There is need and there is want. Given the importance of Dominic Calvert-Lewin this season as a big, physical targetman, the lack of natural back up has become more obvious as the campaign has gone on. Lukas Nmecha can play there but has a slightly different profile to Calvert-Lewin. Farke admitted on Thursday he would not rule out an attempt to bring in another number 9, insisting there was always room for quality players.

Although commentators have suggested Leeds should strengthen at centre-back, because Farke has moved to playing with a back three, and at left wing-back, the noises around Elland Road have focused almost entirely on the idea of bolstering the attack in this window. James Justin’s versatility makes him more than adequate cover for both wing-back positions and centre-back, while Ethan Ampadu could also drop into the defence in an emergency case as he did last season.

Who do they like?

Jørgen Strand Larsen is one of the players for whom they have made a call. The Wolves man is drawing a lot of attention in this window and a likely relegation is looming over Molineux. Leeds are at the enquiry stage but club sources believe most of the bottom half of the Premier League are too when it comes to the 25-year-old Norwegian. Interest from the likes of Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest would make this a complicated one for Leeds to do, regardless of Wolves’ intentions and how a sale would go down among their supporters.

Could Leeds afford it?

Leeds went on record at the end of the summer to say their Profitability and Sustainability position was tight, at best. In fact what they said in essence was had they got Harry Wilson they would have had to do something else financially to bring themselves back into line with PSR. Pull some other lever. Sell someone in January or in June prior to the PSR deadline. Strand Larsen is a player for whom Wolves rejected a £55m summer bid from Newcastle United but of course they now find themselves in a different world and could well be a Championship club in a few months.

At a certain price and with a deal structured heavily towards paying less now and more later, it might be possible to do a permanent and then find a way to balance the PSR position, but loan to buy seems to be the best bet for Leeds, PSR-wise, if they are to hope to pull off a move for Strand Larsen or a striker of his ilk.

And they could of course sell in order to balance the books. Joel Piroe has got suitors in England and Europe, there are Championship clubs who would snap him up but the latest from Leeds is that he is keen to stay and prove himself in the Premier League. Jack Harrison has a move to Fiorentina in the offing but it will be a loan to buy deal too, so only the removal of his wage from the salary bill will help with PSR. Beyond that there is no interest currently in Illan Meslier, and there are few if any others in Farke’s squad that have become surplus to requirements.

What other considerations are there?

One of Farke’s major themes when it comes to recruitment, especially right now, is character. He talked about it in his press conference on Thursday. The club is aligned with its manager on this, because of their desire to avoid taking risks with the squad’s togetherness. Buonanotte will come to Leeds with clear designs on breaking into the first team, a centre forward might well adopt a similar attitude but unseating Calvert-Lewin will be a nightmarish task for just about anyone available to Leeds in this window. Calvert-Lewin’s elite-level nuisance and hold up play, added to his current goalscoring form, makes him a starter. Bringing in a player to cover for Calvert-Lewin is fine, unless the new player struggles to accept that situation and allows frustration to manifest in the wrong ways. Farke will not risk sending his group off kilter, not when they’re playing so well and getting along so well off the pitch. What’s more, he likes his squad right now.

It has been obvious, however, that Leeds lack something when Calvert-Lewin is not on the pitch. Should a worst-case scenario arise in which he becomes unavailable and Leeds haven’t strengthened up top in January then there will be huge pressure on the current strikeforce to try and do what the number 9 has been doing this season. It’s a big, big ask. And they’re a man light as well already, because Harry Gray has gone to Rotherham United on loan. He might not have been playing in the Premier League but he was part of the cover.