Leeds United are unlikely to make any big-money signings for Daniel Farke's squad until July 1 this summer due to the club's financial planning.

Leeds and fellow Premier League clubs are widely expected to keep their powder dry when it comes to signing players until the 2025/26 season begins in an accounting sense.

As of July 1, teams' annual accounts are effectively reset with revenue earned and purchases made from that point on reflected in the financial report ending 30 June, 2026.

For the remainder of this month, any signings club make that are not designated to be made official on July 1, will be reflected in the financial accounts for the year ending 30 June, 2025.

Football transfer fees are rarely paid entirely up front, instead spread out across the length of a player's contract, usually. In an accounting sense, fees - particularly those received from outgoing deals - are often reported in their entirety on one set of accounts.

Few teams have the facility or willingness to tack tens of millions onto the set of financial accounts due to be finalised in the coming weeks, which already reflects expenditure from the previous summer and the season just passed.

For example, if Leeds were to sign a player for £30 million before July 1, 2025, that fee would most likely be reflected in the club's 2024/25 accounts. Given United made an approximate £61 million loss for the 2023/24 season - the first of two years spent in the Championship - and a similar loss is expected to be reported next spring for the 2024/25 campaign, it may not make the most sense from an accounting perspective to report such an investment before this year's June 30 cut-off.

This is mainly due to reasons relating to Profitability and Sustainability (PSR), which are a set of regulations determining the extent to which a club in English football's top two divisions can make losses over a three-year period.

Leeds' most recent set of accounts, as outlined above, saw the club report a £60.8 million loss, whilst the 2022/23 campaign saw Leeds lose £33.7 million. The season before that, Leeds made a £36.7 million loss. Cumulatively, United's losses over a three-year period exceed the maximum PSR threshold, however, due to tax deductible 'allowable expenses' such as infrastructure costs, academy costs, the running of the club's Women's team and various community schemes, Leeds will not face PSR sanctions.

That said, with those expenses taken into account, the club are up to their forehead, so to speak, in terms of where the red PSR line is for the three-year period between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2024. Premier League sides who have spent the entire three-year accounting period in the top flight are allowed losses of up to £105 million, but in Leeds' case, the club have spent two years in the Championship. For the relevant accounting period which ended June 30, 2024, United's maximum loss allowance was £83 million.

For the accounting period ending June 30, 2025, which takes into consideration both of Leeds' recent Championship campaigns, Leeds' maximum loss threshold is closer to the £61 million mark.

Therefore, any additional transfer expenditure is best reported from July 1 onwards, when it will fall within a period which concerns a fresh set of accounts.

When have Leeds begun signing players in previous summers?

Leeds' first signing of the 2024/25 season was Joe Rodon, announced on 2 July last summer, largely due to the above reasoning. A year earlier, United's first senior addition of the summer window was Ethan Ampadu on 19 July. The Whites are expected to follow suit with their signings this summer.

Whilst this may be perceived by supporters as a delay in preparing the team for the new Premier League season, it is a financial formality which few teams are immune from. Manchester United are an anomaly in this sense, and are expected to commit over £100 million on the signings of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo. However, the Old Trafford club have significant commercial and earnings power, the likes of which allows them to spend more freely year-round.

When does pre-season begin?

Leeds' pre-season schedule is not due to begin until early July anyway, meaning new signings are hardly missing out on meeting their new teammates and getting up to speed at Thorp Arch by not joining during the month of June.