Leeds United's transfer window stirs up memories of 2012 after Byram sale weakens squad

That could apply to last month or 2012. The parallels between Ken Bates’s last January transfer window as owner, when Jonny Howson departed, and Massimo Cellino’s second could not be much clearer. Leeds have not moved on.

To Cellino’s credit, Steve Evans was backed with the purchase of Toumani Diagouraga. He cost the Elland Road side £575,000, which would have been a decent outlay had it not come after a significant sale.

If Sam Byram had not left, the transfer window would have been viewed in an entirely different light.

The publicity surrounding Byram’s move to West Ham, not least the £3.7 million fee involved, meant it was easy to play accountant when it came to Leeds’s business.

When Leeds offered a mere £300,000 for Barnsley’s Sam Winnall, an offer that was never likely to be accepted for one of League One’s more recently prolific strikers, it laid bare the reality.

Byram was a key player over December and January, and there is a sense the squad is now weaker at the end of the window than it was at the start.

Leeds’s net spend over the window was incredibly positive for the bank balance but failed to inspire much in the way of dreams.

There was genuine optimism at Elland Road when the August window closed, not least due to the nature of the business Leeds did in the summer. The acquisitions of Stuart Dallas and Chris Wood were sensible and required a certain amount of outlay.

In the case of Wood, Leeds were signing a proven Championship striker, while Dallas was one of Brentford’s better players and was starting to show some real form.

In all, Leeds probably spent over £5 million in that one window. Compare and contrast.

What was notable about the summer was the way it gave Leeds a base on which to build. Players were brought in for the long-haul, even if Uwe Rosler was insistent promotion was unrealistic.

In January there was too much of a focus on loan deals. Liam Bridcutt and Mustapha Carayol joined until the end of the season with no guarantee either move will turn into a permanent one in the summer.

Steve Evans repeatedly insisted that the Whites had to make additions in January to bring the squad of players up to another level. That was a continued insistence, but there was little action.

There was not even action in response to a spate of injuries.

It took until the game against Brentford on January 26 for Wood to start a match after suffering a hamstring injury in December. He had to be withdrawn before the 20th minute after hurting his knee. That did not alter Leeds’s transfer outlook, despite the fact they had again lost a key member of the team.

After Brentford Evans said: “People can see it. Sam went and we’re operating without (Liam) Cooper, Wood and (Gaetano) Berardi. They’re not all that far away but we don’t want to be down at the level of numbers we’ve got.” Leeds remain down at that level.