Three telling statistics show Daniel Farke's summer transfer priorities at Leeds United

Those hoping for a quiet summer of transfer business at Leeds United will soon be disappointed as speculation continues to intensify. The window doesn't officially open until June 14 but already teams are laying the foundations for investment on a scale that only seems to grow.

Recent reports have focused almost exclusively on outgoings and while a Peter Ridsdale-era fire sale is not expected, there has been no secret of the need for tough decisions. Leeds need to remain compliant with profitability and sustainability rules and player sales are the quickest and most obvious route to cash.

Chairman Paraag Marathe told the Yorkshire Evening Post this week that signings will be made, however, and Leeds will be working hard already to strengthen ahead of another promotion push. Additions will have to be shrewd in addressing the issues of a squad that is largely excellent, and the YEP has delved into some key stats from the campaign in an attempt to see where the priorities lay.

Reliable goals

Those who watched Leeds regularly don’t need statistics to know a wastefulness in front of goal cost them too often. Farke’s side were the most creative team in the Championship but a failure to convert that into goals saw points dropped in games where they shouldn’t have been.

According to WhoScored, Leeds had an expected goals (xG) total of 89.99 but - factoring out own goals that have no xG value - only scored 78. That difference of 11.99 was the third-worst in the league and highlights how poor finishing cost them.

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Patrick Bamford, Georginio Rutter and Mateo Joseph all under-performed on their xG totals and so the need for a clinical finisher is clear, particularly if top-scorer Crysencio Summerville is sold. That Joel Piroe over-performed his XG should provide some comfort, however.

Midfield threat

The level of surprise that Ilia Gruev opened the scoring in the 4-0 play-off semi-final win over Norwich City said it all, really. It wasn’t just the Bulgarian’s first goal of the season, but a first goal from any central midfielder. In fact, Leeds were the only Championship team that failed to score from midfield during the regular 46-game campaign.

Gruev, Glen Kamara and Archie Gray all enjoyed excellent individual campaigns but that lack of goal threat was a major point of frustration, particularly in games where the frontline weren’t firing. A reluctance to shoot from Kamara in particular had fans tearing out their hair.

That attacking threat from midfield is a notable gap in the current Leeds squad and unless one of the current crop finds their shooting boots, it will be a key point of focus for the recruitment staff. It was arguably the only weakness through midfield all season.

Set-piece threat

In games where the frontline is not clicking and the midfield cannot break through, set-pieces can become a decider but Leeds were rarely able to take advantage of tired legs from dead balls. Seven goals is a mid-table set-piece threat but, according to the brilliant @LUFCDATA on X, Farke’s men have not scored directly from their last 164 corners.

That huge drop off in threat coincided with the absence of Pascal Struijk, who was by far the man to hit when available, and without him there was only really Joe Rodon to attack the air. He will return to Tottenham this summer and so if Leeds opt to replace rather than re-sign, the Welshman’s successor needs to be aerially dominant.

A further dive into the @LUFCDATA numbers shows that 46.01 per cent of United’s corners were accurate, which is by no means a woeful average, but all too often chances were wasted by poor set-piece taking. A playmaker will likely be on the radar again this summer and perhaps one with a good reputation for dead ball situations would be beneficiary.