Leeds United made grave error this summer and it’s going to cost them Premier League survival

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After slumping to a particularly rough defeat on Saturday afternoon against Brighton, questions are being asked about numerous facets of the Leeds United project.

Daniel Farke led Leeds to the Championship title last season, albeit on goal difference, after a superbly dominant showing across the campaign.

Naturally, stepping up to the Premier League is a massive challenge for any promoted club. Given their fanbase, the resources available to them, and some of the players in the squad, you’d give Leeds as good a chance as any of staying up, though.

It’s not been a terrible start to the season for the Whites, with three wins and two draws from ten games keeping them outside the relegation zone for now. However, popular opinion is turning against Daniel Farke after the 3-0 drubbing against Brighton, and the main source of the problem is now clear.

• READ MORE: Leeds boss Daniel Farke issues positive Wilfried Gnonto injury update as return timeline given

Why did Leeds United think signing Dominic Calvert-Lewin would be enough?

You can lambast the defending, the tactics, the passion all you want, but the fact of the matter is Leeds United just don’t have what it takes to hurt teams in attacking areas. Even Farke has challenged his strikers to contribute more, but they are not delivering.

Joel Piroe was brilliant in the Championship last season, but there were always doubts over whether he could step up to the top flight and do it all again. Based on his performances this season, those doubts were not unfounded at all.

Meanwhile, the signing of Lukas Nmecha was never one that got the fans inspired and his return of one goal from ten games says it all.

However, it’s the signing of Dominic Calvert-Lewin that really underpins the problems with Leeds United’s recruitment this summer.

On his day and in his prime, Calvert-Lewin was a lethal striker capable of scoring all kinds of goals with his head and his feet. Those days are behind him, though, and it’s no secret that he has struggled for fitness for a long, long time.

Calvert-Lewin opened his Leeds account in the win over Wolves but that was five games ago now. That’s 422 minutes in the league without a goal for the 28-year-old, and while he’s racking up game time, he is simply not looking any sharper in front of goal.

Signing a player like that on a free transfer would be a smart bit of business if you were looking for a back-up striker. That’s not what Leeds needed, though; they needed a proper, fit striker who would be able to contribute at least ten goals this season.

• READ MORE: Leeds boss Daniel Farke must hold his hands up and admit he got one summer deal slightly wrong

Goals mean survival, and Leeds United are going to slip away

We are told Leeds are aware they needed more in the summer, and that the club will act in January to sign two or three more players.

However, by that point, it could be too late. As things stand, Leeds have picked up enough points to be in a relatively stable position in the league, and it definitely feels like there are three worse teams than them right now in Nottingham Forest, Wolves, and West Ham.

You cannot rely on the teams around you to be poor in order to survive, though. Leeds will need to start putting teams to the sword and sticking away their chances.

They’ve clocked up an xG of 11.5 so far across ten games, but have only scored nine goals. If that doesn’t stand out as a massive red flag for the club heading into the New Year, then something is drastically wrong with the recruitment strategy at Leeds.