It is commonly accepted that to build a successful and competitive Premier League squad, teams must continually add players, chipping away bit by bit in the transfer market.
Wholesale change can often do more harm than good unless clubs are adding a glut of undeniable international talent all at once.
Typically, though, most Premier League outfits add two or three first-team additions per season, gradually transforming their squads.
Leeds United supporters' gripe during this year's January transfer window is that there is a distinct possibility the club will end up acquiring no senior players for Marcelo Bielsa's squad.
This is despite several injuries to key first-team players plaguing an already-fatigued squad throughout the campaign.
While the seemingly never-ending injury battle appears to have an end in sight over the next six weeks, Leeds fans are still keen to add at least one fresh face this month.
Brenden Aaronson is the club's sole transfer target during the winter window, but having reportedly lodged two bids of £15 million and £20 million, the USMNT man is still a Red Bull Salzburg player.
With days remaining until the transfer deadline, chances of securing Aaronson's addition appear slimmer than when news initially broke of the club's initial bid.
That said, it does not mean Leeds' pursuit of the 21-year-old is finished. Victor Orta may well revisit the possibility of signing the youngster in the summer window, given Salzburg are expected to dig their heels in this month.
In this scenario, there is little Leeds can do, except for paying over the odds. It is clear Aaronson is a player Marcelo Bielsa feels would assimilate immediately into first-team affairs and contribute tellingly due to his creativity, ball-carrying and, above all, work-rate.
But, Leeds are intent on signing the right players for the right price, which in theory is a sound protocol to follow, but in practice can result in transfer stand-offs which exacerbate supporter frustrations.
This summer, Leeds will have several contract decisions to make, but have arguably already finalised their most important in Adam Forshaw.
The midfielder's deal was due to expire at the end of the 2021/22 campaign, but has been extended by one year, with the club holding an option to extend it by a further year.
Forshaw's return to the pitch has been nothing short of remarkable and a new deal ample reward for two years of surgery, isolation, rehabbing and gruelling fitness work.
One of the club's longest-serving players will enter the final 12 months of his Leeds contract this summer, too: Luke Ayling.
The ex-Yeovil Town man sees his deal expire in 2023 and at 30 years of age is unlikely to command a considerable fee if another club tested Leeds' resolve.
A similar one-year extension for the defender would likely be well-received by the player as the newly-married right-back is settled with family in North Yorkshire, and has proven his reliability this season.
Ten years Ayling's junior are Crysencio Summerville and Sam Greenwood - two of the U23s' star men over the past 18 months. Both players have expiring contracts in 2023 and entering the last 12 months of their deals tends to transfer negotiating power from club to player.
If Leeds envision a pathway for either player, who have received interest from clubs abroad and further down the Football League pyramid, the time to tie them down to longer contracts would be this summer.
