Leeds United News: Opinion – Board has ‘track record’ of forward planning

Scotland, led by Leeds United captain Liam Cooper, kicked off Euro 2024 in Munich on Friday against hosts Germany – the same day the transfer window opens.

Out-of-contract Cooper, 32, is in talks to extend his stay and in the meantime, supporters will be watching the action in Germany as they go through all the players linked with manager Daniel Farke’s second promotion.

The pre-season plans are revealed, but what fans really want to know is whose name can be emblazoned on next season’s kit. Following every suggestion will drive you crazy – but the appetite for news and opinion is insatiable.

The club’s chief executive and director, Angus Kinnear, a self-confessed football romantic, once told me how wild speculation about signings should not be treated as a hoax. As inaccurate as transfer gossip tends to be, his view is that it keeps a club’s name in the limelight. It’s part of the game.

However, let’s deal with the facts. Having missed out on promotion by the narrowest of margins, it is undeniable that United performed well in the transfer market last season.

Ethan Ampadu, Sam Byram, Joe Rodon (on loan) and Ilia Gruev performed well. In his 42 appearances, Glen Kamara has proved he can handle life at the top of the Championship. There were promising moments from fellow loanees Jaidon Anthony and Connor Roberts, while despite heavy criticism from some quarters, Joel Piroe still finished second top scorer with 14 to go with the two he had scored at Swansea City.

The management team responsible for making these decisions remains intact, along with Farke, and has been further strengthened with Jordan Miles coming in from Aberdeen as head of recruitment.

Kinnear heads up the football side of the business, while football adviser Nick Hammond will remain at the club throughout the summer, with Gretar Steinsson as technical director.

The buck stops with chairman Paraag Marathe, but there is plenty of experience to draw on. There is now a history of stability and forward planning, two traits not normally associated with summers at Elland Road.