With five new faces through the door already this summer, there's a chance that Leeds United's spending could continue before their Premier League opener in August.
Leeds got most of their business done extremely early this summer, with all five signings arriving before July 7. Brenden Aaronson and Rasmus Kristensen both signed from RB Salzburg and Marc Roca joined from Bayern Munich all before the window officially opened. RB Leipzig's Tyler Adams and PSV's Luis Sinisterra both arrived in early July, taking the Whites' total spending to around £80 million so far.
Since completing the five signings, Leeds have been dealt major blows to their squad, with key players Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips both departing to Barcelona and Manchester City respectively. Marsch's side have been linked with the likes of Philipp Max and Charles De Ketelaere in the last few weeks, with the latter also attracting interest from Italian champions AC Milan.
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So, if Leeds United were able to sign both Max and De Ketelaere this summer, how could the Whites perform in the Premier League and cup competitions next season? Could they push back up the table, or will it be another relegation battle?
Leeds United's 2022/23 season simulated after dream transfer window
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to arrange for Max and De Ketelaere to join Leeds before the start of the new Premier League season. We also updated Leeds' squad to get the most accurate results possible.
During the season, all of Leeds' new signings played big parts in the Premier League campaign, though Aaronson did struggle in his first season with the club, making just five starts and averaging one of the lowest ratings in the squad. Max had the best season out of all the new signings, averaging a rating of 7.15 per game and making 36 appearances.
Interestingly it was Liam Cooper who averaged the best rating in just 13 appearances (7.17), whilst Sinisterra (7.07), Kristensen (7.05) and De Ketelaere (6.98) had the best ratings of the other new signings. Patrick Bamford stayed fit and ended the season as the club's top scorer, grabbing an impressive 18 goals and 3 assists in 34 games.
De Ketelaere was the second top scorer with 10, whilst Rodrigo grabbed seven. Rodrigo also grabbed seven assists which was the most at the club, closely followed by Max (6) and Mateusz Klich (6).
At the end of the 2022/23 season, Football Manager 2022 put together an overall best Leeds United XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what Leeds' best XI looked like at the end of the 2022/23 season as predicted by Football Manager 2022:
Full Leeds best XI (4-4-2): Meslier; Kristensen, Strujik, Llorente, Max; Sinisterra, Roca, Dallas, Harrison; De Ketelaere, Bamford.
Kristensen, Max, Sinisterra, Roca and De Ketelaere all made Leeds' best XI, with Adams and Aaronson missing out. De Ketalaere partnered Bamford up front in a slightly deeper role, whilst Roca was partnered by Stuart Dallas in the middle.
So, how did Leeds perform in the league and cup competitions after adding Max and De Ketelaere to their squad in the summer transfer window? Let's take a look.
Leeds were underwhelming in the cup competitions, with Marsch's side crashing out of both competitions early. After a 1-1 draw with Leicester City in normal time, the Carabao Cup third round went to penalties.
Both Bamford and Jack Harrison missed their spot kicks as the Foxes advanced to the next round. After a 5-0 win over Doncaster, Leeds faced Bournemouth in the FA Cup fourth round, but Joe Rothwell's 70th-minute strike send the Cherries through.
Despite the poor cup runs, Leeds were much better in the Premier League, with their new signings pushing the Whites up the table and into 11th place. 12 wins, 14 draws and 12 losses saw Marsch's side tally 50 points, 12 more than the previous campaign.
The new signings had a fantastic impact at both ends of the pitch. Going forwards, Leeds scored 10 more goals than last season, but the defensive improvement was incredible - conceding 30 fewer goals.
Overall, this simulation suggests that if Leeds were to sign Max and De Ketelaere to complete their dream transfer window, both players could become vital for Marsch's side next season and potentially help push Leeds up to mid-table. In the simulation, Max was one of Leeds' most important players, whilst De Ketelaere contributed with 10 goals in a much-improved season.
Who do you think Leeds will sign in the remainder of the summer transfer window? Let us know in the comments!
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