Leeds United managed to navigate through the choppy waters of this turbulent summer rather well in the end, with a number of new exciting additions joining just in time before the frantic transfer window slammed shut.
Of course, losing big talents such as Georginio Rutter and Crysencio Summerville wasn’t ideal at all, but the likes of new recruits Largie Ramazani and Manor Solomon will be expected to fill their void moving forward, alongside other new signings such as Ao Tanaka and Isaac Schmidt bolstering the squad all over the park.
Daniel Farke will hope all of these new faces bed in well to his growing group, ahead of what many in West Yorkshire pray is a promotion-winning season come next May and not another heartbreaking near miss.
The aforementioned Ramazani looked promising on his debut last time out, as Leeds made it two Championship wins on the spin versus Hull City, with plenty more expected from the ex-Manchester United youngster as he becomes more comfortable in his new surroundings.
Ramazani’s transfer to Leeds
It was always going to be a major priority in the window for Leeds to get in more fresh faces down the flanks, with Summerville’s obvious departure and the anxiety that Wilfried Gnonto could finally be snapped up.
Ramazani ended up being Leeds’ first big buy from the quickfire barrage of purchases made in the wake of Rutter and Co all leaving, with the Whites forking out £10m to land the former Almeria forward.
He warranted that bumper price tag too having been a star in Spain over the last couple of seasons down the left channel, finding his feet in the aftermath of his exit from Man United.
Ramazani fired home 22 goals and picked up nine assists from 128 games, with one of those strikes even coming against the might of Real Madrid back in 2022.
Leeds decided to go after the ex-Red Devils winger in the wake of Almeria’s relegation to the second Spanish division and will hope it’s a transfer gamble that pays off, with his cameo off the bench against the Tigers on his debut encouraging.
Completing 100% of his passes against Tim Walter’s men from his 16 minutes on the Elland Road turf, the 23-year-old attacker also won two tackles and two duels to show he can be a forceful presence as well as a flair player.
The diminutive forward will hope this value rises playing in England to around the figures that saw Summerville and Rutter leave for mega millions, and that could well happen if he plays a key role in Leeds tasting promotion success come the end of the long campaign.
Manor Solomon will also be itching to don a Leeds strip again after the international break is up, having been even more electric than Ramazani on his debut.
Solomon’s transfer to Leeds
Only joining on a loan basis from Tottenham Hotspur for the time being, Leeds fans won’t want to fall too in love with Solomon, knowing full well the sorrow that comes with having to wave goodbye to a beloved loanee.
However, in the here and now, the 25-year-old winger will have tunnel vision solely on promotion being won whilst at his current employers, with the Israel international seriously impressing the masses at Elland Road with his debut performance.
Solomon would help his new side break the deadlock against Hull on his memorable debut, as a cross into the box from the tricky 25-year-old ended up perfectly falling for Mateo Joseph to cleverly tap home to make it 1-0, before Joel Piroe’s calm finish under pressure late on made sure of the three points.
A constant menace down the left alongside an equally sharp Junior Firpo, Farke will be extremely pleased with how well he has instantly settled in, with a potential there for Leeds to test the waters over a permanent deal down the line.
Leeds already have a good working relationship with Ange Postecoglou’s side, with Joe Rodon returning for good this summer a major plus in their summer transfer activity, but Solomon could cost Leeds in the region of £9.9m to make the loan deal permanent, as per his expected transfer value, via Football Transfers.
Away from all these new additions, there is a steady head who has been there since the start of Farke’s reign and continues to shine for the promotion chasers, It just so happens that he’s worth more than both Ramazani and Solomon.
Ampadu’s transfer value in 2024
That man is of course first-team stalwart Ethan Ampadu, who was also purchased from a London-based club Chelsea for a fee lower than Solomon’s estimated valuation, joining the Elland Road ranks last year for £7m.
Experiencing many bumps across his career before making the move to West Yorkshire, with loan move after loan move hurting his development at Stamford Bridge, Ampadu has come into his own with the Whites which has seen his value increase.
Ampadu’s value over the years | |
|---|---|
Year | Value |
2024 | £15.6m |
2023 | £7m |
2022 | £9m |
2021 | £9m |
2020 | £2m |
2018 | £928k |
Sourced by Football Transfers/BBC Sport (£7m fee) | |
The Welshman’s value now stands at a steep £15.6m, with his price tag doubling over the course of the year or so he’s been playing week in and week out for Farke’s men.
The standout 23-year-old is even now wearing the captain’s armband for his side, with zero minutes of football being missed by the ex-Chelsea man this season to date.
It was a bumpy start for Ampadu and Co with no wins from their first three clashes in all competitions, but the popular Leeds number four has got back to his best in recent matches, with four duels won in the Hull victory as well as 78 accurate passes being registered.
His value could well rise to even loftier heights if he can star again this season and promotion is secured, having narrowly missed out on it last term during his debut year donning Leeds white.
Fresh off another Wales cap too, Ampadu will want to live up to his billing of being a “destroyer” for Leeds moving forward, something he was described as by journalist Graham Smyth in 2023/24.
Indeed, the Elland Road outfit will be well aware that a staunch defence can go a long way to winning promotion, as much as having the likes of Solomon and Ramazani dazzle in attack can.
Farke will hope he has that perfectly balanced squad now ready to challenge for a return to the Premier League, with Ampadu acting as a crucial cog centrally.
