Leeds United have wasted no time this summer as the club looks set for a busy transfer window. Ex-RB Salzburg pair Brenden Aaronson and Rasmus Kristensen have already arrived through the Elland Road doors for a combined £35million, while Bayern Munich midfielder Marc Roca doesn’t look too far behind.
Swift and decisive spending was vital this summer as the club look to learn from last year’s mistakes, which left a skeleton squad fighting for Premier League survival on the final day. But a win at Brentford secured another season in the top-flight and now Andrea Radrizzani must upgrade the squad.
But marquee signings don’t come cheap, and if the Whites boss is to bring in a statement signing he might have to break the £27million record. And ahead of a potentially busy summer window, LeedsLive takes a look at how Leeds United’s previous transfer record breakers have fared...
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Tony Dorigo - £1.3million
The left-back signed in the summer of 1991 after a fallout with Chelsea boss Bobby Campbell, and played a key role that season as Leeds won the 1991/1992 Division One title.
Dorigo won the club’s Player of the Season in his debut campaign for his style and elegance in a position so previously associated with the least talented player on the pitch.
Racked up over 200 games in white before a move to Torino in 1997 and picked up 15 England caps, despite being born in Australia to an Italian father and Australian mother.
Rod Wallace - £1.6million
The striker signed from Southampton in the same summer as Dorigo for around £300,00 more and was deployed both through the middle and out wide.
Scored 11 goals in the title winning season and earned his first and only England call up in September 1992 - although he had to pull out with an injury.
Won the club’s 1993/1994 Goal of the Season for a wonderful solo goal against Tottenham and stayed at Elland Road until 1998, scoring 59 goals in 228 games across all competitions.
David Rocastle - £2million
Signed from Arsenal as Howard Wilkindon’s successor to Gordon Strachan but was outlasted in West Yorkshire by the Scot.
Spent just one season at Leeds where he made 34 appearances across all competitions, scoring twice. Rocastle was a popular figure amongst Whites fans but struggled to find consistency due to injuries.
He left in December 1993 for Manchester City, and sadly passed away in 2001 aged 33, after a brief battle with cancer.
Brian Deane - £2.7million
After over 100 goals at Sheffield United - including the Premier League’s first ever goal against Manchester United - the striker came to Elland Road for just shy of £3million.
Bagged 11 goals in his debut Premier League season in white, but failed to hit double figures again during a four-year spell, with 32 goals in 138 top-flight matches.
Returned to the Blades for a season and moved around clubs such as Benfica and Middlesbrough before a surprise return to Elland Road in their first season after relegation - he managed six goals in 31 Championship games.
Tony Yeboah - £3.4million
Arrived from Eintracht Frankfurt as an unknown and left two years later as a cult hero.
Scored 32 goals in 66 games across all competitions including two of the club’s greatest ever goals - against Liverpool and Wimbledon - and won consecutive Match of The Day Goal of The Month awards.
An unfortunate clash of personalities with George Graham led to the Ghanian leaving much too early. He left for for Hamburg where he spent most of the rest of his career.
Thomas Brolin - £4.5million
Signed in November 1995 as a striker partner for Yeboah, the Swede made a promising start before clashing with Wilkinson over questions about his defensive efforts.
Has to apologise to the Leeds boss after telling Swedish media he would play out the season on-loan as an April Fools Day joke, and claimed a poor performance against Liverpool was on purpose in protest to being played out of position.
Spent time out on loan at Zurich and Parma before moving to Crystal Palace - he failed to score a single goal anywhere - before a final 15 minutes as a goalkeeper for Swedish fourth-tier side Hudiksvalls A.B.K.
Michael Bridges - £5.6million
Leeds went over the £5million mark for the first time to bring Michael Bridges from Sunderand in 1999.
He was brought in as a replacement for the departing Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink and started well with 19 goals in 34 Premier League games, but failed to score in the league again over three seasons and only played double figures once due to injuries.
Bridges was released in 2004 and played for 10 clubs including Newcastle, Bolton and Hull.
Olivier Dacourt - £7.2million
An instant favourite at Elland Road for his combative displays in midfield, despite being sent off on his debut against 1860 Munich.
His authority in midfield helped the club make it the the Champions League semi-final in 2001, and he earned cult hero status for his performance in the 1-0 win against Lazio in December 2000.
Another to fall victim to the manager bust up, this time a public row with Terry Venalbes leading to a move to Roma - although he remains a legend of that Champions League side.
Rio Ferdinand - £18million
Leeds more than doubled their record, smashing the British record simultaneously, to sign Rio Ferdinand from West Ham in 2000.
The centre-back quickly became a vital part of the Champions League challenging side at the turn of the century and enhanced his reputation as one of the most promising players of a generation.
The club’s financial problems came to light around 2002 when the England international was sold to Manchester United for £30million - he later admitted to staying in Peter Ridsdale’s office for for six hours to force the move.
Rodrigo - £27million
A statement signing under Marcelo Bielsa after 16 years out of the top-flight, the Spanish international arrived with European pedigree and a hefty price tag.
Remains at Elland Road and the jury remains out after two full seasons. Rodrigo, now 31, has shown fleeting spells of his genius but frustrated Leeds fans all too often.
He may only get one more season to fulfil his price tag and would take some turnaround to do so.
