It is fair to say Leeds United’s decision not to make any signings in the winter transfer market has divided fan opinion. Some believe the club have failed to safety-proof their squad while others are confident that the current crop of players have enough quality to earn promotion on their own.

Ultimately, only in May will we discover the impact of United’s January transfer stance. Daniel Farke had made clear that he would only bring in players who would improve the team, and would not bring in signings to merely bloat the squad.

He had also outlined how he was reluctant to risk disruption to the team spirit that has been built up in the Elland Road dressing room, something that has helped the Whites climb to the top of the Championship table. With no-one signed, that risk has been nullified.

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At times, there had been calls for Farke to alter his cautious transfer stance and make some big calls. However, the manager and owners 49ers Enterprises stuck to their guns, which thereby essentially ruled out three transfer options.

A new goalkeeper

Illan Meslier faced heavy criticism after his mistakes saw Leeds drop points against Hull City in last month’s 3-3 draw. The goalkeeper had left himself out at sea for the opening goal before spilling a catch to allow another in the second half with United 3-1 ahead.

It was far from the first time Meslier had had such a game this season, having most memorably misjudged an innocuous ball late on away at Sunderland to see Leeds lose grip on three points. As a result, supporters were calling for Farke to change his no.1 mid-season.

The manager was having none of it. He did agree that Meslier had been “poor” against Hull but threw his weight behind his goalkeeper as his pick and that this was not going to change. To swap him out would undoubtedly have risked the team spirit Farke holds in such high value.

A big-money signing

The biggest Championship acquisition of the winter window saw Sheffield United purchase Tom Cannon from Leicester City for around £10m. There was never any inkling Leeds would splash such an amount on a newbie mid-season.

The club took an opportunistic approach to the market, with Farke including ‘affordable’ within his strict recruitment criteria. In an age of financial spending regulations, every pound counts.

Any money spent this window could not be splashed in the summer, by which time Leeds could be a Premier League club. This squad might have the power to earn promotion but it would need significantly bolstering in order to stay in the top-flight.

It is not clear whether Financial Fair Play was one of the reasons behind the club’s winter transfer ethos, but it would be surprising if it wasn’t. And plus, any new big ‘I Am’ arriving for a hefty fee would, again, risk the equilibrium of contentness within the squad.

A squad player

At the same time, Farke was not prepared to bring in a player who was only going to play a bit-part in his squad. Saturday was proof why. With Pascal Struijk back from injury, Isaac Schmidt failed to make the matchday 20.

And with Patrick Bamford still to come back, another player may soon be dealt the same disappointment. Youngsters James Debayo and Sam Chambers have a tough task ahead of them.

Adding another player who was not going to directly improve the team was deemed pointless, and understandably so. Farke had warned loan players merely looking for game time that they might not get it at Elland Road given the strength of his current roster.

He was right to do so, but given the club’s transfer mantra, the likelihood of acquiring anyone was always going to be slim. And so it has proved.