Where are they now? Jesse Marsch’s 12 largely disastrous signings as Leeds United manager
Leeds United made 12 signings over the course of Jesse Marsch’s 12-month stint as manager, but few of those proved to be successful at Elland Road.
The American coach helped steer Leeds to survival when he was appointed as Marcelo Bielsa’s successor in February 2022, but he was dismissed a year later with the club sitting just above the relegation zone.
We’ve taken a look back at the 12 players Leeds brought in during Marsch’s tenure and checked in on where they are today.
Brenden Aaronson
The midfielder was originally linked with Leeds during Marcelo Bielsa’s final transfer window, which in hindsight can be read as the Red Bull/American direction the club was headed in. He eventually arrived in the summer, joining his compatriot and former boss at Red Bull Salzburg.
The £25million fee raised eyebrows, and while there were some promising signs early on he struggled to justify that outlay and looked less suited to the physical demands as his underwhelming debut season went on.
“I have a body type that’s not, I guess, a Prem-type player,” Aaronson responded in an interview with The Athletic.
”I’m not the biggest, I’m not the most physical. But I disagree that I think that it makes the biggest difference. If you look at the best players in the world, (Andres) Iniesta, Xavi, (Luka) Modric, they’re strong guys, but they’re not like Virgil van Dijk.
“I think since that last year I’ve gotten stronger because I’ve been in the weight room a lot more. I work on it every day. I try to get stronger every single day. But I think that I learned a lot more because I’ve always been the smallest one. So I’ve always had to be between the lines and be smart.
“Also, during parts of the season last year, I was trying to draw fouls around the box and people thought, ‘Oh, he’s going down too easy’. But that was just me trying to get fouls. So it’s a little bit of both. But I think I can definitely get stronger.”
The 23-year-old didn’t fare much better out on loan at Union Berlin last season and has now returned to Leeds.
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Luis Sinisterra
The Colombia international registered better numbers than Antony in his final season in the Eredivisie, yet caught a fraction of the fee that Manchester United spent on the Brazilian.
Given that, and some electric moments, there was hope that he could step into Raphinha’s shoes to become Leeds’ new talismanic wing wizard. But he ultimately wasn’t fit and available enough and he was almost entirely absent during the pivotal relegation run-in.
Sinisterra ended up forcing a move to Bournemouth on deadline day and played well enough for the Cherries to make his move permanent. Leeds have reportedly recouped their original outlay on his signature, which has to represent decent business.
Tyler Adams
One to be filed alongside Sinisterra as a ‘what if?’ that hangs over Leeds’ relegation, the US international was probably the club’s player of the season – in part due to their form falling off a cliff when he suffered a season-ending hamstring injury.
Bournemouth triggered Adams’ £20million release clause last August, but he only played four times in a season disrupted by a hamstring injury.
Rasmus Kristensen
Another one that played under Marsch at Salzburg, the Denmark international struggled in his one and only season at Elland Road and can be seen as the poster boy for the Red Bull-influenced direct, narrow and frantic Red Bull style failing to get going.
Kristensen has since been loaned out to Roma, where he came under severe criticism for his performance. Naturally, Leeds have taken him back for 2024-25.
Marc Roca
The Spanish midfielder evidently had his qualities, but his patient passing style always felt incongruous in Marsch’s chaotic gameplan that never seemed fussed about recycling possession.
Roca looked particularly lost following the injury to midfield partner Adams, and he recently confirmed his permanent move to Real Betis after playing for the La Liga side on loan in 2023-24.
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Darko Gyabi
Highly regarded as a promising youngster, Gyabi arrived at Leeds as part of the deal that saw Kalvin Phillips move to Manchester City.
But he never made it beyond the fringes of the first-team squad and clocked up considerably more minutes for the Under-21s. In January 2024, the midfielder joined Plymouth Argyle on loan until the end of the season.
After helping the Devon club stay in the Championship, Gyabi will remain at Plymouth on loan for the 2024-25 campaign.
Sonny Perkins
It was considered quite the coup when Leeds signed Perkins, who West Ham were reportedly not too happy about losing after a tribunal.
The young forward continued his development in the club’s youth ranks and hinted at making the first-team step-up when he scored a late equaliser against Cardiff in the FA Cup in January 2023.
But he never really kicked on from there and a half-season loan to Oxford United failed to ignite his career. He will spend the 2024-25 season on loan at Leyton Orient.
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Wilfried Gnonto
A deadline-day capture from FC Zurich, Gnonto quickly made himself look indispensable with some electric early performances under Marsch.
But the Italian’s form fizzled out in Leeds’ miserable relegation drop, and it looked like he might have burned his bridges when he put in a transfer request and reportedly refused to play amid interest from Everton last summer.
Gnonto ended up staying put, kept his head down, and has been patient for further opportunities while being kept out of the XI by an in-form Dan James.
After Leeds lost in May’s play-off final, rumours have intensified that Gnonto might leave Elland Road this summer.
Joel Robles
A much-needed experienced back-up to Illan Meslier, Robles spent most of the 2022-23 campaign as a bench-warmer – but he was eventually brought in for a run of games by Sam Allardyce when Meslier’s confidence looked shot.
Robles was unable to make much of a difference and quietly departed on a free at the end of last season. He’s currently turning out for Saudi outfit Al-Qadsiah.
Weston McKennie
The Juventus loanee made just one appearance under his American compatriot, a dismal 1-0 away defeat to relegation rivals Nottingham Forest, before Marsch was sacked.
Things never really picked up from there, and McKennie himself admits he wasn’t at his best during his forgettable half-season stint.
“I didn’t have the best performances,” McKennie reflected in an interview with Sky Sports Italy.
”I felt I let certain people down. But at the end of the day, when I came back, I think it was important for me in general to have an experience like that, to have that happen to me at this moment of my career, because when I came back it felt like I was coming back here for the first time again.”
McKennie bounced back – no pun intended – from the Leeds’ fans chants of “you fat b*stard” with an uptick in form for Juventus last season.
Max Wober
Yet another player that came and went before being loaned out, Wober was a popular figure upon his arrival in January 2023, helping to shore up the defence albeit not enough to keep Leeds up.
The Austrian then exercised the clause in his contract that allowed him to go out on loan rather than play for the club in the Championship.
He’s back at the club following a year at Borussia Monchengladbach, but Leeds are thought to be open to selling the 26-year-old for around £10million.
Georginio Rutter
Leeds’ record signing at £36million, Rutter’s first six months in Yorkshire were a total head-scratcher. He played 99 minutes under Marsch, 203 minutes under Java Gracia and just 30 minutes under Sam Allardyce.
The French forward never made any kind of impact in the relegation battles and you had the feeling that three successive managers didn’t know what to do with him.
Rutter might not have been what Marsch’s Leeds needed at that moment, but he was a revelation in their promotion bid last season, scoring six goals and 15 assists as the Whites finished third.
Most importantly of all, he brought the fun factor back to Elland Road.
There was never any suggestion that Rutter wanted to jump ship after relegation, unlike so many of his team-mates, even amid interest from the likes of Borussia Dortmund. For that, and being a born entertainer, he’s becoming a proper fan favourite.