What Leeds United's deadline-day business means for Daniel Farke's squad

Leeds United entered the final day of the transfer window with two jobs still to complete.

They needed greater depth at left-back, and they needed another attacking option if Wilfried Gnonto was going to be allowed to leave for Fiorentina.

By the time the deadline passed, both boxes had been ticked.

Melvin Bard arrived from Nice on loan to provide competition and cover at left-back, while Jean-Mattéo Bahoya joined from Eintracht Frankfurt to strengthen the attacking options available to Daniel Farke. Bahoya became Leeds' seventh signing of the summer.

It means the shape of Farke's squad is now considerably different to the one he had at the beginning of the summer.

James Trafford has given Leeds a new goalkeeper, with Michael Zetterer providing experienced competition.

Tarik Muharemović and Nico Elvedi have strengthened central defence, Harry Wilson has added Premier League quality in attack, and the two deadline-day additions have addressed positions where the squad was beginning to look thin.

The biggest benefit is not necessarily the quality of the first-choice XI.

It is the depth behind it.

That is something Leeds learned quickly last season. The Premier League has a way of exposing thin squads, particularly once injuries and fixture congestion begin to arrive.

Joe Rodon's hamstring injury against Brentford provided a timely reminder of that.

Before Elvedi arrived, another centre-back injury would have created an uncomfortable situation.

Bard now gives Farke another natural left-back, meaning James Justin can be used elsewhere when necessary rather than becoming the automatic solution on the left.

That is important because Justin's versatility is one of his greatest strengths.

The more positions he can cover, the more valuable he becomes. But versatility can also become a problem when it is being used to compensate for a lack of specialist depth.

Bard should reduce that problem.

The same principle applies in attack.

Gnonto's departure could easily have left Leeds with a hole on the left side, particularly given the demands of the Premier League.

Instead, the club moved for Bahoya and ensured the squad retained another young wide option.

Again, it does not mean Bahoya has to replace Gnonto in every sense.

He simply needs to make sure Farke has another player capable of competing for minutes.

That is the theme running through Leeds' summer.

They have not only attempted to improve the starting XI; they have tried to create a squad in which players can challenge one another.

That should make selection decisions more difficult for Farke, but that is a problem every manager would rather have.

There is one position where Leeds might still have supporters asking questions.

Striker.

A back-up No 9 would have made the squad feel almost complete. Leeds have attacking options, but another recognised striker would have given Farke additional insurance over a long campaign.

That omission is understandable given the number of other priorities that needed to be addressed, particularly once the Gnonto situation became complicated.

The club essentially had to decide where its resources and attention were best spent.

Left-back was a clear need. Replacing an outgoing attacker was another. Midfield depth, meanwhile, was less urgent because Leeds did not lose any major options in that department during the window.

The resulting squad therefore feels balanced rather than perfect.

That distinction matters.

There is no such thing as a perfect Premier League squad, particularly for a club still establishing itself after promotion. Leeds were never going to have two high-quality options for every position without making the squad unnecessarily large and expensive.

What matters is whether the weak points have been reduced.

They have.

Trafford and Zetterer give Leeds a stronger goalkeeping department. Muharemović and Elvedi provide additional depth centrally. Bard strengthens the left side. Wilson adds proven Premier League quality. Bahoya brings pace and potential.

That is a substantial amount of change.

The next challenge is Farke's.

Recruitment can give a manager options, but he still has to build the right combinations, manage minutes and ensure the new players settle quickly.

The early weeks of the season will tell us more about whether the recruitment has worked than any transfer-window rating ever could.

For now, though, Leeds have achieved what they needed from deadline day.

They have allowed Gnonto to leave without leaving themselves short in attack, strengthened an obvious defensive weakness and added another young player with the potential to develop into something more.

The squad is not perfect.

But it is considerably better equipped for the Premier League than it was when the summer began.