Good Morning. It's Thursday 3rd September, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road...
Whites rejected £35m bid for Okafor
Leeds United rejected multiple bids for Noah Okafor this summer, including a late Sunderland offer worth around £30m. The Swiss international winger, signed from AC Milan last summer for £18m (€20m), was the subject of several approaches during the window. One of those came from Sunderland and was reported at €35m (£30m), almost double what Leeds paid a year earlier. The club turned it down, viewing Okafor as a key player, who wanted to stay.Fabrizio Romano reported that a £30m bid was still on the table on deadline day, yet Leeds held firm. The Athletic and Yorkshire Post separately noted a deadline-day enquiry from Sunderland that was swiftly rejected. Selling a first-team attacker to a league rival comes with risks, and it is not known whether the offer was still on the table when Jean-Matteo Bahoya signed on the dotted line.
Okafor made a solid start to life at Elland Road after a slower beginning. He scored eight goals in 36 appearances in his first Premier League season, including a brace in a 2-1 win at Manchester United. Injury concerns remain part of the picture, however, and he has not always completed 90 minutes. Leeds have faced criticism over outgoing fees. Across 13 departures they generated around £30m including loan fees, with the bulk coming from Pascal Struijk’s move to Brighton (reported in the £18-20m range, potentially rising with add-ons). Other sales and loans included Joe Gelhardt to Hull, various lower-value deals, and several loans such as Wilfried Gnonto to Fiorentina.
Incoming spend was significantly higher. Transfer fees totalled in the region of £89m (€99.70m). That included loans for Melvin Bard from Nice (with a reported £5m option) and Jean-Mattéo Bahoya from Eintracht Frankfurt (loan that becomes permanent next summer for £25m+ range plus add-ons). Major permanent arrivals included James Trafford (£40m from Manchester City) and Tarik Muharemovic (around £34m from Sassuolo).
An extra £30m from an Okafor sale would have narrowed the gap between spending and recouped fees and eased Profit and Sustainability Rules pressure. Instead Leeds chose to keep a player they rate as important to Daniel Farke’s squad heading into their second consecutive Premier League campaign. Whether that decision pays off on the pitch and on the books will be judged over the coming months.
52 Premier League better signings than James Trafford?
Football is all about opinions. Leeds fans are allowed to be biased. Even allowing for that, Athletic journalist Tim Spiers’ ranking of all 155 Premier League summer arrivals has gone down badly at Elland Road. Spiers placed James Trafford 53rd. That is the England goalkeeper, the club-record signing, and the player Leeds have been trying to land in that position for years. In his view, 52 deals this summer were better pieces of business. Leeds did not have a quiet window;- Harry Wilson on a free from Fulham
- Tarik Muharemović for £34.1m from Sassuolo
- James Trafford for a guaranteed £40m from Manchester City
- Nico Elvedi for a reported £6.8m–£8.5m from Borussia Mönchengladbach
- Michael Zetterer for £4.3m from Eintracht Frankfurt
- Melvin Bard on loan from Nice, with a modest option to buy
- Jean-Mattéo Bahoya on loan from Frankfurt, with a significant obligation to buy
That is the entire case. A 23-year-old England international, already a World Cup squad member, who conceded 16 goals across a Championship title-winning season at Burnley, who played every match as City won both domestic cups, and who arrives as the long-term answer in the most important position on the pitch is somehow mid-table in a list of 155. Spiers’ criteria include cost-effectiveness, importance to the new club, and whether the player fills a genuine need.
Trafford ticks every box except the first if a club-record fee is treated as automatically disqualifying. Goalkeepers of this profile do not come cheap. Illan Meslier and Karl Darlow left on frees. Leeds needed a massive upgrade not just in shot-stopping but in distribution, something the club has lacked for more than two decades. They paid the market price for a proven young English keeper. That is how this market works. Wilson on a free is an excellent signing and deserves to sit high.
Muharemović replacing Pascal Struijk for a similar fee to what Leeds received for the Dutchman is smart, high-upside business. The rest of the window is sensible squad building. Trafford is the one that changes the ceiling. A mid-table Premier League side with a 23-year-old international goalkeeper who can play with his feet and command his box is a different proposition from the one that spent last season relying on Darlow. Plenty of other observers saw it that way. Some rankings published while the window was still open put Trafford first overall. That feels closer to reality than 53rd.
Rodon injury expected to alter starting XI against Brighton
Leeds United take an unbeaten start and a perfect away record to the Amex Stadium on Saturday as they face Brighton in their third Premier League game of the season. Daniel Farke’s side have won both visits to Nottingham Forest this campaign, 1-0 in the league on the opening weekend and 2-0 in the Carabao Cup, and remain unbeaten after a 1-1 home draw with Brentford last Sunday. That result came at a cost: Joe Rodon hobbled off with a hamstring injury and is a major doubt.The transfer window closed on Tuesday night, but Leeds were able to add defensive and attacking cover after Rodon’s setback. Nico Elvedi, who replaced the Welshman against Brentford and adapted well, stands ready to start. Left-sided wing-back Gabriel Gudmundsson completed a full week of training and was an unused substitute last weekend; he is now in contention. Long-term absentees Mateo Joseph (recovering from MCL surgery) and Ilia Gruev (knee) remain out, though Gruev has been edging closer in training.
Brighton also have a growing injury list. Former Elland Road favourite Georginio Rutter missed Sunday’s defeat at Chelsea with a minor unspecified issue. Manager Fabian Hürzeler indicated Rutter has a better chance of making the squad than Jack Hinshelwood, suggesting the French forward could return this weekend. Hinshelwood and several other attackers, including Yankuba Minteh and Kaoru Mitoma, are longer-term concerns.
Leeds sit eighth with four points from two games. Brighton are ninth with three points after a 4-0 opening win over Aston Villa and a loss at Chelsea. The visitors will look to extend their strong start on the road while managing a thinner centre-back group; the hosts will hope Rutter’s availability and home form can halt Leeds’ early momentum.
