Football Manager predicts Leeds United’s summer transfer window with a big call for Crysencio Summerville

With the start of the pre-season, Daniel Farke must put the finishing touches on his team to kick off the new Championship campaign.

Leeds United will be competing in the second tier again after narrowly missing out on a close promotion race last year. This factor has so far heavily affected the club’s dealings in the transfer market, with forced sales taking place to offset blocked payments for transfers completed during their three-year spell as a Premier League side.

Supporters will be wondering what the manager can do in the transfer market and how he sees fit to bolster the ranks he already holds. To help you find out, maybe a simulation of the ongoing transfer window is in order…

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Leeds United 2024/25 summer transfer window mock

To make this simulation, BonusCodeBets has set up a Football Manager save complete with accurate transfer information up to this point. For Leeds, this includes already confirmed deals – Archie Gray leaving for £30m and Joe Rodon arriving for £10m, both involving Tottenham Hotspur, and Charlie Cresswell’s £4m departure to Toulouse. This happened:

arrivals

• Joe Rodon (Tottenham) – £10m

• Naci Unuvar (Ajax) – £7.5m

• Mikey Johnston (Celtic) – £5m

• Gijs Smal (Feyenoord) – £4m

• Emil Krafth (Newcastle United) – £2 million

• Jairo Riedewald (Crystal Palace) – free transfer

• Oliver Norwood (Sheffield United) – free transfer

• Matt Targett (Newcastle) – loan

Four defenders, three midfielders and a striker arrived at Elland Road in Farke’s second summer transfer window with the club. As it turned out, at £10m, Rodon remained the most expensive signing after this spending-light summer – perhaps as the club try to balance the book.

To help eliminate the need for a big spend, Leeds have made good use of cut-price or free arrivals from English rivals. Emil Krafth arrived from Newcastle for £2m, while team-mate Matt Targett joined him on a one-year loan, then both Jairo Riedewald and Oliver Norwood signed on free transfers after their contracts recently expired with previous clubs.

Mikey Johnston was an exciting £5m signing from Scottish champions Celtic and the manager eventually headed to the Dutch market for an £11.5m mini-raid. Naci Unuvar, a product of the Ajax academy, and Gijs Smal from Feyenoord were the two recruits.

Costs

• Archie Gray (Tottenham) – £30m

• Wilifred Gnonto (Marseille) – £25m

• Rasmus Kristensen (Nottingham Forest) – £12.5m

• Charlie Cresswell (Toulouse) – £4m

• Cody Drameh (Luton Town) – free transfer

• Jamie Shackleton (Sheffield United) – free transfer

• Sam Greenwood (Preston North End) – loan

• Darko Gyabi (Plymouth Argyle) – on loan

• Sonny Perkins (Leyton Orient) – loan

• Ian Poveda (West Bromwich Albion) – on loan

Leeds are expected to end the summer with a hefty £43m profit thanks to two big departures. As mentioned, the first of these was already Gray, and he retains the highest fee of any that left.

Crysencio Summerville was the most anticipated exit of the summer given his stellar form in the second leg and the club’s failure to win promotion last season, however spectacularly Farke managed to keep hold of his left-back talisman. Instead, Wilfried Gnonto is sold to Marseille, who recently appointed Italian Roberto Di Zerbi, for £25m.

With Cresswell’s exit previously set, the last permanent exit for a fee this summer is Rasmus Kristensen, who joins Forest for £12.5m. Cody Drameh and Jamie Shackleton finally complete free transfers to Luton Town and Sheffield United respectively.

The club are also using the loan market for their younger talent, with Sam Greenwood, Darko Gyabi and Sonny Perkins leaving for the season. Joining that group is Ian Poveda, despite being released by Leeds at the end of last month…