Remarkable stats show Leeds United’s best transfer business was free

Leeds United have made a solid start to the season and enjoyed an impressive summer transfer window in many respects, as highlighted by an important statistic.

On the field, Daniel Farke’s men have picked up four points from two games, thanks to a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest on the opening day, before drawing at home to Brentford last time out in the Premier League. Off the field, the Whites focused on building a strong squad and looking to the future in their transfer dealings, but arguably one of the biggest things they did was also free.

Last season, the club was very reliant on the talents of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who by far had the most goal involvements as Farke’s team went on to finish 14th.

Leeds’ main man, DCL, was the only person in double figures, contributing to almost 1 in 3 Leeds goals in the Premier League last season, with 9 goal involvements for both Noah Okafor and Brenden Aaronson, with Anton Stach’s contribution just one less, and two less than Lukas Nmecha.

The table below, from Lad Casino, highlights DCL’s influence.

Leeds signed Harry Wilson on a free transfer from Fulham during the summer, with the former Liverpool man proving to be Fulham’s most productive player last season. Leeds and Fulham, both of whom scored 49 goals in the Premier League last season, both had a clear standout player in DCL and Wilson, with Wilson’s contribution of 17 goals and assists in total surpassing DCL’s contribution of 15 at Leeds, with Wilson directly involved in better than 1 in 3 Fulham goals.

Only 4 Fulham players managed over 5 goal contributions, with Wilson contributing 5 more goals than Fulham’s star striker, and Mexico’s World Cup quarter-final goal-scorer against England, Raul Jimenez.With Wilson, Leeds are not only adding to their own roster, but doing so for free, and leaving a big hole in another Premier League rival team’s starting XI.