Leeds United expectations soar as 49ers Enterprises wipe slate clean but new data reveals low bar

49ers Enterprises have finally received EFL approval for their full takeover at Elland Road, in a £170m deal for Andrea Radrizzani's 56 per cent shareholding. The club announced the news to great fanfare from the fanbase late on Monday night.

An agreement was reached between the two boardroom parties on June 9 but the league's ratification took nearly six weeks, due in part to the number of individuals who had to submit to the EFL owners and directors test and the fact that this investment model is not as straight forward as a single owner takeover, like the one at Wigan Athletic recently.

A green light from the governing body was always expected though and 49ers Enterprises have pressed on with their plans in the background, albeit requiring Andrea Radrizzani's say-so for the appointment of Daniel Farke.

Outgoing transfer business - mostly in the form of loans it has to be said - has continued throughout the last few weeks and although incoming signings have been lined up behind the scenes, it was only when it became clear that EFL approval was imminent that news broke of Ethan Ampadu's permanent move from Chelsea.

That £7m deal is the first bit of senior recruitment of the 49ers era and a first glimpse of how the investment group might look to do their transfer business now they've got their feet under each side of the boardroom table.

The fact that news did not break until a deal had almost been struck between the two clubs, was an unfamiliar feeling for Whites supporters. It's enough of a rarity in the modern game, where transfers are tracked and updated almost by the hour from the writing of a name on a list to the signing of that name on a dotted line and its printing on the back of a shirt.

Whether such stealth will be possible in all their future transfer market manoeuvres remains to be seen, as does Ampadu's suitability for Daniel Farke's football and a Championship promotion bid. If the last few windows of the last Elland Road era have taught us anything it is to stow transfer judgement until a season's trajectory and an individual's contribution has revealed itself.