The January transfer window will offer Leeds United and Daniel Farke with a golden opportunity to add to their squad as they aim to bounce back at the first time of asking to the Premier League.
It has been a promising start to the 2023/24 campaign on the whole for the Whites, who find themselves well within the mix for automatic promotion back to the top flight.
However, there have been some chinks in Leeds' armour thus far, and they find themselves 17 points adrift of Leicester City at the top of the table as we enter the new year.
With this in mind, the winter window will provide Leeds with the chance to add some firepower to their side with the competition at the top of the table heating up amid the winter chill.
A lot could rest on what business Leeds do over the coming weeks and we at Football FanCast have taken a look at the best bits of January business Leeds have done over the years.
10 Richard Naylor January 2009
Eventually being named as Leeds captain, Richard Naylor was a January addition who delivered exactly what the board would have been hoping for.
Amid their struggles in the 2008/09 campaign, Naylor was brought in to add some steel to the Leeds defence, and that is exactly what he did.
Naylor would make 76 appearances for Leeds across all competitions with the defender playing a big role in their promotion to the Championship as well as captaining the side in their infamous FA Cup victory away to Manchester United.
9 Tony Yeboah January 1995
Keeping with the trend, Tony Yeboah was signed by Leeds on an initial loan basis in January 1995 from Eintracht Frankfurt before his stay was made permanent in the summer.
The Ghanian forward made a total of 59 appearances for the Whites across all competitions, where he was able to provide an impressive return of 30 goals – 24 of those coming in the Premier League (via Transfermarkt).
Yeboah's time at Elland Road only lasted two-and-a-half years. However, he provided the Premier League one of its truly iconic moments with his stunning goal against Liverpool in the 1995/96 campaign.
8 Lee Chapman January 1990
Leeds signed forward Lee Chapman originally back in January 1990 before he returned for half a season on a short-term loan in 1996.
And it was his first stint at the club which will be remembered so fondly given his short-term loan only saw him play 85 minutes worth of Premier League action (via Transfermarkt).
In total, the Englishman provided an impressive return of 61 goals for Leeds in 134 appearances across all competitions.
And it was Chapman who played a huge role in their 1991/92 title-winning campaign as he scored 21 times in the First Division over his 38 appearances.
7 Sol Bamba January 2015
After signing for the Whites back in January 2015 on an initial loan deal from Palmero in Italy. And it did not take long for the move to Yorkshire to be made permanent as he joined in the following summer.
The central defender was no stranger to letting his feelings known about how Massimo Cellino ran the club. He later revealed why he felt the need to speak out over the actions of the club's chairman:
“The lads were dying for me to say something because none of us were happy about how things were.
“I spoke out for them and I spoke out for myself. I thought ‘if I don’t say something, who will?’ “It wasn’t me trying to cause trouble.
“I just don’t like it when things aren’t right and sometimes that message needs to come from people on the inside, people like me."
Bamba would be made club captain during his time at Leeds and represented the Whites 56 times over his fairly short spell at the club.
6 Adam Forshaw January 2018
The midfielder's time at Elland Road may have ended with a feeling that he could have achieved much more whilst at the Whites had it not been for his continuous injury issues.
Indeed, injuries were a serious issue for Adam Forshaw and the Englishman was a regular on the treatment table at Thorp Arch.
The main injury he sustained during his time in Yorkshire was to his hip, which saw Forshaw miss out 71 games, 560 games between 2019 and 2021.
However, despite his issues, he was a favourite under Marcelo Bielsa who played the midfielder 61 times – making up the majority of his appearances for Leeds (via Transfermarkt).
Speaking ahead of Forshaw's contract extension back in 2022, Bielsa had the following to say about the Englishman: “It is very difficult for me to refer myself to Forshaw, in this moment where he's given such a valuable response, because I didn't think Forshaw was going to be the player he was once before,” said Bielsa.
5 Eric Cantona January 1992
There is a handful of signings which have to be caveated by the fact – at the time – signings could be sealed all year round in England, but they happened to land during the early stages of the year.
And Eric Cantona is one of them. The Frenchman made the move to Elland Road from Nimes Olympique for just over £1m in the early stages of 1992.
His arrival in Yorkshire proved to be one that was certainly worth the transfer fee as he helped the Whites to pip their rivals, Manchester United, to the division title in the 1991/92 campaign.
Cantona landed at Leeds with just half the campaign remaining, and he played in 15 of the remaining 16 games where he was able to provide a return of three goals and an assist as he bedded into life in England (via Transfermarkt).
4 Max Gradel January 2009
The Ivorian winger is a player who many Leeds fans will have fond memories of after his initial loan spell was made permanent in January 2010.
Over his time in Yorkshire, the winger played 84 times and he was able to provide the Whites with an impressive return of 25 goal and 13 assists (via Transfermarkt).
His time at Leeds did not last for too long after Leeds turned a healthy profit on the winger when the French side Saint-Etienne came calling in 2011.
3 Bradley Johnson January 2008
Bradley Johnson became a key figure in the Leeds midfield during their Championship days under Simon Grayson. The midfielder provided the Elland Road crowd with a real stunner to celebrate in their FA Cup clash against Arsenal.
And it was apparent that Johnson was a player who was capable of playing at a higher standard during his time at Leeds. Johnson racked up a whopping 140 appearances for the Whites where he returned 17 goals and 10 assists.
He did eventually get a taste for Premier League football, however, he did so away from Elland Road after he departed the club for Norwich City on a free transfer.
2 Georginio Rutter January 2023
Perhaps it is too early to put Georginio Rutter any higher in this list given his arrival at Leeds came less than a year ago, however, the signs are looking promising.
The forward had a difficult start to life at Elland Road as he struggled to find his feet as the Whites headed towards relegation from the Premier League.
But he is one of the few big-name players who decided to remain at Leeds over the summer following their relegation and it is a decision which the club will be thankful for.
Indeed, Rutter has had an impressive start to life in the second tier with a return of four goals and nine assists in his opening 23 appearances (via Transfermarkt).
1 Pablo Hernandez January 2017
Leeds initially signed the Spaniard on a short-term loan in the summer of 2016 from the Qatari side Al-Arabi SC, before making his signing permanent in January 2017 on a free transfer.
And they did so for free. The midfielder did not cost Leeds anything in transfer costs in making his move from the Middle East to Elland Road permanent.
Hernandez proved to be a really important figure in Leeds' return to the Premier League under Marcelo Bielsa and racked up a whopping 175 appearances for Leeds during his time in Yorkshire.
The midfielder was able to post double-digit figures in goal contributions across all three of his campaigns in the Championship, and although he was not as effective in the top flight upon their Premier League return, the club's escape from lower-league mediocrity may not have happened but for the Spaniard's input.
