Leeds United boss Daniel Farke says 'time is against us' for summer signings and squad rebuild

Speaking after the first pre-season friendly of his regime, a 2-0 defeat by Manchester United in Oslo, Farke was in no mood to sugar coat the situation facing him and Elland Road chiefs.

In 25 days the German will lead the Whites into the first game of the Championship season, but the club's transfer business will go into August as they discover who will remain from the squad Farke inherited and recruit new talent for a promotion drive.

Talks with current players are ongoing at Thorp Arch and though Leeds have said farewell or will soon say farewell to Robin Koch, Diego Llorente, Brenden Aaronson, Rodrigo and Rasmus Kristensen, they harbour hopes of retaining the likes of Tyler Adams, Max Wober, Jack Harrison and Willy Gnonto.

Luis Sinisterra is another who would represent a serious asset in the second tier and the Colombian winger shone at times against Manchester United.

"Each and every day we have many, many conversations but it's not up to me to speak in public about this," Farke said.

"So it's important that we do this behind closed doors and be sure, so we work our socks off right now really, each and every day. At the moment, the days don't have enough hours if I'm honest, in order to do all the work.

"It will last a while to be in a really solid position that we have a big, clearer picture who is with us and who is not and it's also important to be professional and to work really hard on our fitness level also, to bring our ideas to the players of course in order to be prepared when things really count."

Farke, though optimistic that Leeds can keep some of their key stars, won't shy away from thedifficulty of the work that lies ahead.

"If you're not convinced then you can't do the job, you always have to be optimistic, but also realistic," he said.