Still to come...

Two in, two out was the final days transfer trading for Leeds United as Ramon Nunez and Adam Clayton sealed deals at Elland Road, with Alan Sheehan and Lubomir Michalik heading off to pastures new.

Overall, Leeds have signed a total of eleven new players over the summer, all of which are listed below.

*All Leeds United’s transfers have been ‘undisclosed fees’ so the figures used are estimates from other sources or guess-work on my part.

The early concerns when the 2009/10 season ended was who would replace Jermaine Beckford after his move to Everton was confirmed? Over the last few weeks however, Simon Grayson has given us a dizzying array of goalscoring options and left us looking like one of the most dangerous teams in the league.

Luciano Becchio has started the season firing on all cylinders, whilst new additions Ross McCormack and Billy Paynter give us some proven goalscoring options. Add to that the emergence of Davide Somma as a real candidate to the starting XI, and you start to wonder what all the fuss was about?

Even more threatening are the two wide-men, Sanchez Watt and Lloyd Sam, who both have pace to burn and can go round a player with ease. It’s been a long time since Leeds United looked this threatening going forward, but Simon Grayson has really delivered in an attacking sense and we continue to produce goals from all areas of the pitch.

Whilst the attacking options look good, the defence is an entirely different story. Neill Collins has been the only good addition in this area, giving pretty consistent performances in all his games so far. The two full-backs, Federico Bessone and Paul Connolly however, haven’t impressed and with Richard Naylor somehow holding down a first team place, our defence would appear to have more holes in it than the German Bismarck.

A lot has been said about the need for a holding midfielder, but for me, that’s simply papering over the cracks. The real issue is the defence, and what we need is a centre-back with some pace – but maybe the addition of Alex Bruce will solve that?

Overall, the additions have been pretty good from Grayson. The defence has it’s flaws, but it could just be a gelling process that will sort itself with time? In the meantime, the best signing of this summer has been keeping us in it.

Son-of-Scum, Kasper Schmeichel has been an absolute revelation since his surprise unveiling early-doors. His command of the area, handling skills and impressive shot-stopping ability instantly impressed the Leeds United faithful, and the keeper could prove to be the difference between the play-offs and an instantly forgettable season.

With so many players added to the squad, naturally, some had to leave – below is a full list of the players that have left Elland Road;

In total, twelve players have left Elland Road this summer with five of them on loan elsewhere. Obviously, the biggest loss was Jermaine Beckford, but as we’ve already seen, Simon Grayson has done an excellent job of sorting our attacking options out.

It’s good to see the youngsters, Darville, Elliot, Lee and Martin getting some valuable first-team experience elsewhere, although Simon Grayson’s record so far doesn’t suggest we’re ever going to see them in a Leeds United shirt.

With Aidy White and Ben Parker out injured, I think releasing Alan Sheehan was a mistake. I remain hopeful that it’s just a gelling process for Fede Bessone, but he’s hardly set the world alight with his performances so far and whilst Sheehan was never the best left-back, he was a reliable option if needed.

With twelve players out, you can’t complain too much. We knew the squad was a bit heavy on deadwood, and Grayson has done his best to address that. Andy Robinson remains a bit of a stalling point, but I still expect his contract to be terminated in the coming weeks (if no loan offer is forthcoming).

I suspect there will be other players heading out on-loan throughout the season, most notably, Mike Grella who has fallen so far down the pecking order now that he’s lost his place on the bench. There’s also the likes of Leigh Bromby, Andy Hughes and Jason Crowe that are not going to be happy making the numbers up and may be eager to get some games elsewhere.

I said before the season started that I thought the play-offs were a realistic aim, and after a promising start and some excellent additions, I think Simon Grayson is heading in the right direction. I keep coming back to the defence as a concern, but if we can sort that out, then we’re looking very strong.

However much I like Larry, the one thing he has to do this season is secure promotion. An incredible start meant it was ours to lose, and of course, we’re doing our best to make sure things aren’t easy. If he fails at the final hurdle, no matter how close he comes, it simply isn’t close enough. Tough as that may be, he’s in charge of one of the countries biggest clubs and with such a big job, comes big expectations.

The first area Larry addressed was the most obvious one. When Kis went off injured against Millwall, our defence fell to pieces. With Rui still injured, a replacement seemed the best way forward and for that, he turned to Preston North End and their out-of-favour centre-back Neill Collins.

Already, an unhappy and disillusioned Leeds United faithful have been quick to criticise this move due to his lack of success at Preston. I must admit, I have my own reservations too, but if you take a closer look at his history, you’ll see he’s been quite successful elsewhere; most notably, Wolves.

This could be an absolutely disastrous signing, as many of Simon Grayson’s loan signings have been. It’s a signing forged in desperation and adversity, so it’d be no major shock if Collins wasn’t the answer to our prayers. However, I’m feeling quite optimistic about his arrival. He’s a player with an established career at a higher level, desperate to prove his worth and undoubtedly looking to secure a future away from Preston. Only time will tell, but he’s definitely got a lot to play for so shouldn’t need much motivation.

Sticking with the defence, Shane Lowry returns from Aston Villa to fill the troublesome left-back vacancy that has been a constant weakness since Ben Parker was sidelined through injury.

I’ll probably take heavy criticism for this, but I was actually quite impressed with Lowry. He didn’t make the brightest of starts admittedly, but before he returned to Villa injured, he looked like he’d started to gel with the rest of the team and was certainly more successful than Andrew Hughes. Won’t be the most celebrated of signings, but he’s here to fill a void and it was a necessary move on Grayson’s part.

Finally we come to Sanchez Watt who joins us on loan from Arsenal. The Gunners are expecting great things from this youngster who Wenger brought in as a 15-year-old. When it comes to youngsters, no one has a better eye than Arsene Wenger so the young winger may be the one to watch as our season draws to a close.

Coming from Arsenal, he may be just what we need in that he’ll be familiar with passing the ball on the floor (something the rest of the team have clearly forgotten). Watt is also said to have electrifying pace and likes to run at players. Just the attacking threat we needed on the wing then?

A few months ago, the above three signings would have had my mouth watering, but after such incredible flops as Cardiff’s Capaldi, seeing will most definitely be believing as far as I’m concerned. It’s a shame the depth of the squad wasn’t used more when it should have been as a team of Leeds United’s size really shouldn’t have to resort to desperate last minute loan deals.

Going in the other direction is Liam Darville to Rotherham United and Andy Robinson leaves for Tranmere. I guess it was only a matter of time with Robbo, but his move highlights the kind of players we have available to us that have gone unused since Simon Grayson’s arrival. If the loan signings pay-off and we get automatic promotion then you can’t really question Larry’s judgement. However, if the season ends with Leeds United still in League One, the departure of Andy Robinson and David Prutton will be brought under intense scrutiny.  

So, the dice are rolled, jobs are on the line and tens of thousands of supporters expect. No pressure.