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Leeds have come a long way since Andrea Radrizzani took over in 2017.
They appointed a world-renowned manager in Marcelo Bielsa, reached the playoffs and now once more sit in a promising position in the league table.
After six matches the Whites are third after heading into the international break with their first Championship defeat of the campaign.
But good news has followed as the west Yorkshire side aim to bounce back and that falls at the feet of Kalvin Phillips.
The midfielder has put pen to paper on a new five-year deal, putting months of speculation surrounding his future to bed.
It’s a contract that could be worth around £40k a week, thus putting him on parity with both Patrick Bamford and Kiko Casilla.
For someone who played 44 times in the league last term, it’s richly deserved, but it may not have been possible without some of the brutal decisions taken from the Leeds hierarchy.
This summer, Leeds had a colossal clear out as 31 players departed Elland Road either on temporary or permanent terms.
Victor Orta quickly got to work on slimming down a squad that wasn’t particularly big on the face of it.
Leeds have used just 17 players this season, the fewest of anyone in the division, so that perhaps gives an indication they didn’t need them after all.
But considering the injury problems Leeds suffered in 2018/19, the sheer volume of those who walked through the exit door may have come as a surprise.
What was particularly brutal was seeing players like Tom Pearce, Clarke Oduor and Aapo Halme leave. They were all young individuals who were in and around the first team boasting promise but were – perhaps a tad surprisingly – shipped out.
Of course the most prominent departures were Kemar Roofe and Pontus Jansson, the latter who left partly for financial fair play reasons after a £5.5m switch to Brentford.
But it’s the club bringing in various sums of money during the course of the window that has arguably led to a new deal for Phillips even being possible.
The Whites’ wage bill, according to Angus Kinnear, has skyrocketed since Radrizzani took over.
Telling the BBC last week he said: “The biggest thing to understand is how much the wage bill has grown under Andrea’s tenure. The wage bill when he took over was for a mid-table team and there was a correlation with how much you spend on the wage bill and where you finish.”
Consequently, is it any surprise Leeds shipped on so many players? Probably not.
The Whites may have been brutal in their strategy but in terms of securing the long-term future of the club it’s a justifiable approach.
Losing 31 players has cleared the way for potential new terms for some of their biggest names, one of which is Phillips.
An academy graduate, his renewal can be seen as somewhat of a coup given the events of only a few months ago.
Leeds swatted away £14m interest from Aston Villa as they demanded £30m for the midfielder.
The 23-year-old was also being mooted with a potential switch to either Wolves or Bournemouth.
Those didn’t happen as the Whites fended off strong interest.
But ultimately, letting players like Jansson and Roofe seep through the net has allowed for greater freedom in how Leeds go about maintaining the integrity of the squad.
Whether Phillips stays the full five years will depend on Leeds’ success in their pursuit of Premier League status but, in regard to the short-term, they’re making terrific strides.
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Their mass clear-out this summer seems to have put them in a position to offer players like Phillips the kind of terms they want and merit, something the board must also be considering for other players who are out of contract.
As things stand, Mateusz Klich and Pablo Hernandez could both depart on a free after Stuart Dallas and Liam Cooper put pen to paper on new deals in midweek. It would be a shock if they all left but Radrizzani and Orta’s brutal decisions may be beneficial for them.
Ultimately it’s cleared the wage bill and has given the Whites some leniency in terms of who they can now tie down.
Leeds got rid of a brimming pool of players who weren’t going to play a significant senior role and subsequently it’s now allowed them to keep Phillips without any wider ramifications coming into play.
This is a big step in the right direction from those at the top of Elland Road and, even if some of the transfers in the last few years haven’t paid off, they must be hailed.
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