It has certainly been a turbulent year for Leeds United fans, with relegation from the Premier League leading to a number of their star players leaving over the summer transfer window.
Making an unwanted return to the Championship brought a lot of change and uncertainty around Elland Road. For one, the Whites appointed former Norwich City manager Daniel Farke to provide a figurehead who had experience of winning in the second tier.
And it is a decision which is seemingly paying off for the West Yorkshire club following a bright first half of the campaign as they eye a spot in the automatic promotion places. On the horizon is the January transfer window, which will provide the Whites with an opportunity to enhance their chances of an instant return to the big time.
With the winter window now a matter of days away, Football FanCast has delved into the recent history books and taken a look at the last 10 January signings made by the Whites and where they are now…
Weston McKennie – 30th January 2023 From Juventus – Loan
Appearances
20
Goals
0
Assists
1
Signing Weston McKennie on loan until the end of the campaign may have come as a shock to many around the league given some of the clubs he had been previously linked to.
But the United States international found himself swapping Turin for Leeds until the end of the season, where he went on to make 20 appearances for the West Yorkshire club in total.
The large majority of those appearances (19) came in the Premier League, where the American failed to provide much of an impact with just one assist and seven yellow cards to his name.
McKennie has since returned to Juventus over the summer and gone on to play regular Serie A football, with 14 starts to his name in the league alone (via Transfermarkt).
Georginio Rutter – 14th January 2023 From Hoffenheim – £35m
Appearances
35
Goals
4
Assists
10
Leeds made a big money signing in January 2023 as their Premier League survival remained in doubt following a shaky start to the 2022/23 campaign.
They certainly rolled the dice in the winter window by spending significantly on the French forward in a deal which reportedly had the possibility to reach up to £35m in total.
Rutter endured some struggles in settling into life in the Premier League as he failed to find the back of the net in any of his 11 top-flight appearances (via Transfermarkt).
However, despite costing so much and Leeds falling down into the Championship, he was one of the few big names the Whites were able to hold onto over the summer.
And it is certainly a decision which has paid off for Leeds, with Rutter netting four goals and providing nine assists inside his first 21 appearances in the second tier.
Maximilian Wober – 3rd January 2023 From RB Salzburg – £11m
Appearances
19
Goals
0
Assists
0
Jesse Marsch's influence saw another of his former players come through the doors at Elland Road – this time in the form of Maximilian Wober from RB Salzburg.
It is reported the defender arrived in West Yorkshire in a deal which cost Leeds in the region of just £11m.
But the defender was unable to help turn around Leeds' 2022/23 campaign in the top flight, with no goals or assists in his 16 Premier League appearances (via Transfermarkt).
And it was apparent he was not keen to hang about in the Championship with the Whites as he left on loan for Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach.
Following his confirmed departure, the Austrian had the following to say on his decision to leave on a season-long loan:
"I totally understand the disappointment with some of you. But for me, it is a necessary step to show myself at the highest level and to be able to secure a spot in the national team of Austria for the Euros in 2024."
Jean-Kevin Augustin – 27th January 2020 From RB Leipzig – Loan
Appearances
3
Goals
0
Assists
0
This is a transfer which Leeds and their fans will not forget in a hurry – although they probably will be trying their best to do so.
Augustin joined the Whites on an initial loan deal from RB Leipzig with the obligation to buy for £18m at the end of the campaign.
The deal was made permanent at the end of the campaign, but having played just 48 minutes of football, Leeds made a £15.5m settlement agreement with Leipzig following a dispute over whether the obligation fee was owed as a result of their promotion in 2019/20 – a season which was impacted by the pandemic.
On top of that, the player's £80k-per-week salary over five years needed to be resolved, which equated to £24.5m – a sum which Leeds were ordered to pay.
Having played just over a half's worth of football for the Whites, Leeds ended up paying in the region of £40m for the player, who is now playing his football in Switzerland with FC Basel.
Ian Poveda – 24th January 2020 From Manchester City – Undisclosed
Appearances
27
Goals
0
Assists
1
Leeds may have thought they had secured a real coup in signing Ian Poveda on a free transfer from Manchester City's U23 side, but it is not exactly a signing which has proven to be a success thus far.
Indeed, Poveda has only made 27 appearances for the Whites across all competitions and the winger is yet to find the back of the net (via Transfermarkt).
The Colombia international has left the club twice on loan, and his recent spell at Blackpool in League One did provide some cause for optimism as he was able to enjoy some bright spells for the Tangerines.
Having returned to Leeds, Poveda has made six appearances this season in the Championship with a total of just 139 minutes on the pitch…
Mateusz Bogusz – 29th January 2019 From Ruch Chorzow – Undisclosed
Appearances
3
Goals
0
Assists
0
The Whites signed Mateusz Bogusz from Polish side Ruch Chorzow in 2019 for a fee believed to be less than £100k.
But it was not a signing which proved to pay off, as he ended up departing the club three times on various loan deals (via Transfermarkt).
Over the course of his time at Elland Road, the Pole was only able to feature on three occasions, with an accumulated game time of just 185 minutes.
However, there was a positive end to his time in Leeds which only came to an end in March when the Whites were able to turn a profit on his departure as he left the club for LAFC in a deal believed to be worth in the region of £1m.
Kiko Casilla – 17th January 2019 From Real Madrid – Undisclosed
Appearances
62
Goals conceded
61
Clean sheets
23
Much like Jean-Kevin Augustin, this is a name which Leeds fans will not forget in a hurry.
The Spanish goalkeeper made a free transfer switch from La Liga giants Real Madrid, with Leeds in the Championship at the time.
But this was a transfer which brought a sour taste, as the goalkeeper was banned for using a racial slur towards Charlton Athletic's Jonathan Leko.
During his time at Elland Road, the Spaniard went on to make 62 appearances across all competitions, where he conceded 61 goals and kept 23 clean sheets (via Transfermarkt).
After a loan spell back in Spain, Casilla made a permanent move to Getafe in 2022, but has since become a free agent, and at the time of writing – remains unattached.
Tyler Roberts – 31st January 2018 From West Brom – £2.5m
Appearances
108
Goals
9
Assists
10
Signing from West Brom's U21 side, Tyler Roberts put pen to paper on a deal to join Leeds which is believed to have been worth around £2.5m.
The Welsh forward went on to rack up the appearances for the Whites after arriving in 2018 – 108 in total across all competitions (via Transfermarkt).
However, he had his issues in front of goal for Leeds as he was only able to provide the Whites with a mere return of nine goals in those games.
He did also provide 10 assists, but a return of just 19 goal contributions in over 100 games was nowhere near good enough.
After departing the club last season on loan, Leeds sold Roberts in the summer to Birmingham City.
In what proved to be a real failure of a transfer, Leeds were forced to take a financial blow to get Roberts out of the door as they sold him for around a fifth of what they originally paid for him.
Adam Forshaw – 18th January 2018 From Middlesbrough – £4.5m
Appearances
91
Goals
0
Assists
3
The list of previous January signings is not proving overly impressive, with Adam Forshaw's time at Elland Road also leaving a lot to be desired.
The midfielder made the move to West Yorkshire from Middlesbrough in 2018 for a fee reported to be in the region of just £4.5m.
Forshaw went on to spend over five years with the Whites, before leaving in the summer of 2023 for fellow Championship side Norwich City.
He left at the end of his deal with Leeds, where he had made just 91 appearances across all competitions in those five years.
Despite spending such a long period of time in West Yorkshire, Forshaw's career was seriously hindered by injuries, with numerous setbacks clawing him back from making a long-term impression on the starting XI.
Laurens De Bock – 11th January 2018 From Club Brugge – £1.5m
Appearances
7
Goals
0
Assists
0
Ending this list in style, Leeds signed Belgian left-back Laurens De Bock from Club Brugge for around £1.5m in 2018.
Much like a lot of the names on this list, it is a signing which will have left a lot of question marks over Leeds' recruitment strategy.
After signing in the winter window, De Bock was sent out on his first of four loans in the following summer, returning to his homeland with KV Oostende.
And all seven of the Belgian's appearances for Leeds came in the 2017/18 Championship campaign, where he conjured up 630 minutes of football (via Transfermarkt).
The defender left the club in 2022 in a free transfer return to Belgium at Zulte-Waregem, and now finds himself playing his football in Greece with Atromitos.
