Leeds United should have tried to sign forward Marcus Edwards in the winter transfer window, according to Whites old boy Ross McCormack.

The former Tottenham attacker joined the Whites' promotion rivals Burnley from Portugal giants Sporting Lisbon earlier this week. The move reunited Edwards, who can play on either wing as well as in attacking midfield, with Clarets head coach Scott Parker.

The 26-year-old plundered 24 goals and provided 26 assists in 120 outings for Sporting. Reacting to the deal on social media, McCormack posted on his Instagram story: "Feel like Leeds have been caught asleep here. This boy is a serious player."

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Farke made it crystal clear he would have liked to have brought in a centre-back, attacking midfielder and striker in to give them additional strength in depth for the run-in. But in a lengthy defence of their inactivity in the most recent window, the German told the media at his pre-Coventry press conference: "It’s always difficult to improve and strengthen if you’re top of the table. If you’re in such a position, you do many things right. You don’t have a problem if there’s a big injury. And who should then strengthen your team?

"In January especially, the options are limited. The second is: sometimes a loan player is available. Which loan players strengthens a team top of the table, so you have to go for a loan player from a higher level. Not many leagues higher than Championship. If a player is available on loan, there is a reason. It means he doesn’t belong to the core group of the 17-18 players for this Premier League side, for example, and hasn’t played in recent weeks.

"It’s definitely a fact you can just loan out a player who is not in his full rhythm and confidence and not a key player for a side on Premier League level. If we’re really honest, does a player who doesn’t make it into the top 17-18 players in a bottom half Premier League squad, does he really improve Leeds United? Difficult I would say.

"Must be a big coincidence to find a player on loan who strengthens you. Perhaps a player from the top half of the Premier League, maybe. Then it’s about like, definitely just ones you can guarantee game time. And how in our position can we guarantee game time? I don’t drop Joe Rodon, Ethan Ampadu or Pascal Struijk in the centre-back position [for a loanee]. I don’t drop Brenden Aaronson who is working miracles for us this season. In our position we can’t do this."