Leeds United had a good window despite late chaos; Hull City and Bradford City in rebuild mode; Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham United keep key players

After the last 12 months of injury problems, that is far from certain, though.

In keeping with many Yorkshire clubs, Leeds have overhauled their squad this summer and apart from the most high-profile piece of the jigsaw, on the face of it they have done a pretty good job. Those who leave it late in the window often find themselves disappointed but it rarely pans out as farcically as Leeds’s did.

That the Whites did such a good job of getting their other business done only made the frantic deadline-night dash for a striker even more annoying, thinking they had signed Bamba Dieng from Marseille at what looked a very good price for the Senegal forward, then that they had been gazumped by Nice before discovering they actually got lucky, with the 22-year-old reportedly failing a medical.

All the while, Dan James was at Fulham, waiting to see if he would be allowed to join them on loan in echoes of January 2019.

But not only did Leeds get the rest of their business in early, but they look good fits, most with coach Jesse Marsch’s fingerprints all over them, pointing to joined-up thinking between him and director of football Victor Orta – not the given it should be at all clubs.

The inevitable departure of Raphinha to Barcelona and the seemingly unavoidable one of Kalvin Phillips to Manchester City could have made it a disastrous window but the funds they brought in allowed Leeds to add the squad depth they so badly lacked last season.

Their familiarity with Marsch’s approach and having a full pre-season has helped Brenden Aaronson, Tyler Adams, Rasmus Kristensen and Marc Roca (the only one of the quartet not to have played for the American before but a former player of the similarly-minded Julian Nagelsmann) to hit the ground running. Luis Sinisterra starting the season injured means he will need more time but he showed good signs on his full Premier League debut at home to Everton.

Hull City and Bradford City have recruited almost entirely new squads, ploughing on even on deadline day, and Sheffield Wednesday made double-figure signings too. Sheffield United, Rotherham United and Doncaster Rovers recognised less was more, and early results suggest they might be right.

In athis season so disjointed by the World Cup, the summer transfer window has dragged on far too long and Middlesbrough’s inability to get the main business of their overhaul done early has given their Championship promotion rivals an unwanted headstart. Like Leeds, they were scrambling around in the last hour to add a striker to Rodrigo Muniz and Marcus Forss.

Barnsley had an excuse, made to wait on outgoings. New manager Michael Duff still did not know when he woke up on deadline-day morning whether Callum Styles and Michal Helik would be his players by the time he went to bed and it may have stopped him shaking up the relegated squad he inherited as much as he would have liked for an extremely demanding League One promotion race.

Nottingham Forest and Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis ravaged Huddersfield Town, taking away not just Carlos Corberan but Lewis O’Brien, Harry Toffolo, Pipa and any realistic hope of building on last season’s Championship play-off final. Financial reality meant not enough of the money received could be reinvested.

Harrogate Town had a drastic change of personnel too, but will have to hope their 11th-hour business proves more effective than their early work for a League Two team leaking goals without scoring them.

Staring down interest in key players was important for the two Sheffield clubs, and nearby Rotherham.

When the window shut Sander Berge, Lee Gregory, Josh Windass, Tyreeq Bakinson, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Chiedozie Ogbene and Dan Barlaser had all stayed where they were despite notable outside interest. Reports of a Blades bid for midfielder Ismael Kone sent hearts fluttering, but was a safeguard.

Anel Ahmedhodzic was the only transfer fee they paid but looks a £4.1m bargain, and Oli McBurnie’s goals in the last two games could be as significant to a squad which was not far short last season.

The only caveat is that Berge’s suitors Brugge can make signings until Tuesday.

Across town, the Owls have considerable depth and as long as manager Darren Moore does not get too giddy in how he uses it, a squad which looks capable of a title challenge. A fit Windass makes such a difference.

Rotherham added considerable nous in Conor Washington, Lee Peltier, Grant Hall and Tom Eaves, sprinkled with stardust from the likes of Brooke Cuffy-Norton. Until their unbeaten Championship start ended at Sunderland, things were going very well indeed.

Despite not changing managers, Hull and Bradford have essentially started again with ambitious recruitment bringing the likes of Ozan Tufan and Jean Michael Seri (Hull) and Scott Banks and Harry Lewis (Bradford) to Yorkshire. Both are finding consistency with so many new players to integrate but if nothing else, their seasons should not be boring.