Exclusive:'I led Leeds United to the Champions League - they must turn silver into gold to enjoy transfer success'
Leeds United have five days to round up their summer transfer business.
Former Leeds United manager David O’Leary believes the club must ‘turn silver into gold’ in the transfer market if they want to climb the Premier League table.
Leeds have enjoyed a promising summer transfer window so far, albeit quieter than last year’s 10-player influx. A combined £81million has been spent on four arrivals, almost half of which went towards club-record signing James Trafford.
But Daniel Farke admitted on Tuesday there are areas of the squad that need improving and Elland Road chiefs have just five days to conclude their business. Additions would still be welcomed at goalkeeper, left-sided defender, left-winger and striker if possible.
“I think their squad is light,” O’Leary told the YEP via Betway. “Looking at the bench, I still think they could do with a few players to add to it to survive a long Premier League season. I'm looking at Leeds now to kick on and be a lot further up the league.
“They got great, passionate support, it's a great club, and you're looking for them, maybe like Brentford who have come back and established themselves to move forward. It's not acceptable with Leeds to say we've just survived and stayed up.
“There's too many great supporters, too much of a fan base to be just a survival club. The club deserves more than that, the fans deserve more than that, and that's the ambition that the owners should have to be pushing on every year to get back to where they belong.”
Farke also admitted on Tuesday that Leeds are working with ‘limited resources’, with the new Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) rules tightening the purse-strings a little in the short-term. And with the market as inflated as it’s ever been - in attacking positions especially - recruitment chiefs are having to work smart.
“I think they need to add players who they buy at the right price and turn into really top-quality players,” O’Leary added. “Like Brighton, they buy players and they're worth a lot of money because the top teams want them.
“I think Leeds have got to be able to buy well and be a club that develop players to play in a big club like Leeds under the demands. They are brilliant supporters, but you've got to be a certain type of player to play there because the expectation is big.
“If the team is doing well, the city builds up all week looking forward to the Wednesday night match or the Saturday game. And if you win, the city is buzzing. There's a lot of people who say it's great when you have one club in a big city, but that can be the other way as well. It becomes a lot of pressure and expectation.
“I think that's what Leeds have got to do. They can't be just a team to survive. They've got to be a team to buy players that may be bronze or silver, and turn them into gold.”