As the final grains of sand in the transfer window hourglass ebb away the penny is going to drop for Leeds United fans on the stark reality of January at Elland Road.
Barring a drastic late change in circumstances, there will be no ins or outs at United before the 11pm deadline this evening.
Brenden Aaronson was the one and only target the Whites felt ticked enough boxes to justify a pursuit this month, but Red Bull Salzburg have held firm, while Leeds do not wish to pay over the odds for a target they can pursue again in the summer.
With that chase on hold, the only other feasible business would have been outgoings, but the Crysencio Summerville chatter never escalated against a backdrop which made any exits a hard sell for fans when the squad is cut to ribbons by injuries.
The absentees, of which there were nine in the Newcastle United loss, and the league position will hang heavy over this window for fans as the club moves into February and the return to action at Aston Villa.
Despite the Newcastle loss, Leeds have all the right gaps to the right clubs in the table right now. A seven-point cushion to the bottom three is offset by a four-point gap to Leicester City in 10th.
While Marcelo Bielsa is not expected to face the media again until February 7, his most recent comments on the injury picture would at least suggest it should look much better by the time Leeds return to action.
Junior Firpo, Adam Forshaw, Charlie Cresswell and Jamie Shackleton are all understood to be hopeful of returns on the other side of the international break.
Meanwhile, Kalvin Phillips’s March return is a timeframe he will hope to beat based on his past injury record.
Squad health is improving, while Bielsa does not want a bloated unit with players left kicking their heels and unable to get on the pitch when everyone is fit.
The upshot of a quiet deadline day is the retention of this clear pathway to the first team for the club’s ambitious under-23 crop.
As Angus Kinnear was at pains to reference in his most recent programme notes, the development of their best young players remains at the forefront of Elland Road minds as they plot the best use of the transfer capital they have at their disposal.
“We are confident we are building a long-term competitive advantage in the recruitment and development of world-class young talent,” he said.
“Central to this strategy is our ability to promise and deliver to young players a fast track to first-team football, as well as a culture where there is a belief in the process and where the players, irrespective of age, are trusted to deliver on the Premier League stage.
“This strategy clearly impacts our evaluation of transfer targets, where our analysis indicates that many January options, requiring an eight-figure investment, would not be a material improvement on the current performances of emerging players such as [Lewis] Bate, [Leo] Hjelde and Joe Gelhardt.
“Moreover, signing other options would block such youngsters’ development and would offer nowhere near the long-term potential.”
The most recent performances of Bate and Hjelde in the matches at West Ham United were the latest reminders for Kinnear, Victor Orta and Andrea Radrizzani of what they have waiting in the wings.
Whether fans agree with that policy or not, this is the blueprint the club is following and it’s why some of the best under-23 talent in the country and across Europe will see Leeds as a place to develop their careers when the window opens again this summer.
Cody Drameh saw it differently and caught Bielsa off-guard with his plea to move. Bate, Hjelde, Cresswell, Summerville and Gelhardt have to be happy with how this window has played out.
If the squad ever reaches 100 per cent availability, Gelhardt would be the only one with a chance of getting minutes regularly, but based on how this season has gone up to now, all of them have to believe they’re in for more exposure in the best league in the world across the next four months.
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