This week, Leeds United's Chief Executive Officer Robbie Evans spoke with media, including The Athletic, at the club's training ground.

He discussed various topics, including the summer transfer window, the club's Squad Cost Rule (SCR) situation, deadline-day activities, missed targets, and the future of head coach Daniel Farke.

Below are some of his responses from Thursday's interview.

Why was selling Struijk to meet PSR requirements surprising?

What surprised me was how optimistic some people were going into last summer about our PSR ceiling. We made it clear as early as September last year that we'd used up our allowance.

You can never be completely certain where you'll land with PSR or SCR until the end of the season, because club finances are constantly changing.

Going into last season, I was quite confident we'd need to sell some players in June. Frankly, our deep run in the FA Cup, finishing in 14th place, and limited January signings meant ultimately we only needed to sell one player.

Back in August, we were prepared to sell two players if necessary, because our goal at that time was to strengthen the squad as much as possible to improve our survival chances. That was the risk we accepted at that point.

We knew this issue could arise in June this year, and Pascal ultimately became the solution. Fortunately, we only needed to sell one player, not more.

How did Struijk's early indication of wanting to leave help in signing Muharemović?

We prepared for this possibility throughout the season, and last year we scouted many left-footed centre-backs extensively.

When we received confirmation that Pascal was leaving, we began our search for a replacement. Getting that news early was certainly helpful.

What did you see in Muharemović?

Last summer, we emphasized "raising the foundation of the squad," while this year it's about raising both the foundation and the ceiling, while making the squad younger.

Rather than just pursuing players with extensive experience in the top five leagues, this year we prioritized players who are already at a high level but still have room to improve further.

The collective assessment from Daniel, Alex, and Adam on Muharemović was that he's at a high level but still has significant room to develop, making him a valuable investment.

We also added some experienced players like Elvedi, Ball, and Wilson.

This summer, we wanted a stronger squad with more sustained improvement. Last year, primarily signing players around 27 years old wouldn't really address long-term building.

Muharemović gives the squad a longer development cycle, giving us more time to continuously build and improve the team.

Were you always confident about signing Trafford?

I always maintain a "healthy anxiety." You're never completely confident until the player actually signs.

James Trafford is an England international, and we believe he'll be a top goalkeeper in the future. You have to remain vigilant about competition because he's already a world-class player, but still very young and constantly improving.

This concern about competition actually helped us, because we were very proactive throughout the process, carefully working to communicate with his team, meet their needs, and show them how this project suits him, his family, and his career.

You can never truly relax until the player signs. The same is true with Trafford, because we know that any club in the world who suddenly has an injured goalkeeper can call him immediately.

How has the club's image changed when you pitch Leeds United to transfer targets?

We always emphasize the club's project, the level of support, and the club itself.

For a player like Muharemović, a 23-year-old Bosnian player, he might not realize that Leeds United is actually one of the biggest clubs in the world.

Much of our work really involves explaining to them the reality that, even when relegated or even in the Championship, Leeds United still has a massive fanbase and influence.

You don't need to exaggerate or oversell the project; it's about explaining to them, because Leeds United really is a huge club.

This year, that work has certainly been easier. Last summer, some players, even when we knew they were interested, weren't necessarily willing to join.

But having a good Premier League season certainly helps. There's also a big difference between finishing 14th and nearly going down.

Now, the outside perception of the club is stability. Agents see that, players see that, and therefore they want to be part of a project that's moving upward.

What's the situation with Shea Charles?

We have overall squad-building targets, financial constraints, and we also consider what sacrifices or compromises would be necessary if we signed this player.

Ultimately, we reached a point where we felt the deal no longer worked for us, so we decided to withdraw.

It was more of a market opportunity. There weren't many midfielders available at that time, and we felt the options that matched our age profile, player type, and squad needs were very limited.

Not signing him doesn't mean we desperately need another midfielder, because our midfield depth is actually quite good.

We evaluated it, but ultimately decided that deal wasn't valuable enough, so the right decision was to maintain discipline and walk away.

What was the situation at the club on deadline day?

It was a very intense day. I'm not sure I'd call it chaotic, but it was certainly very tense.

The biggest hero of that day was probably Hannah Cox, our Head of Football Operations. She, along with Club Secretary Assistant Abigail Stanton, essentially completed five deals in one afternoon, including two loans, two purchase options, and the departure of Wilfried Gnonto.

We were able to do all of that because we planned for it, and we had prepared for Melvin Ball and Jean-Matteo Bahoya very early on, with input not just from the scouting department but also from the coaching staff.

When you have multiple layers of preparation, you can react quickly when external factors change. I'm very proud of the entire team for their execution, flexibility, and capability on deadline day.

But as you can see, the biggest issue with deadline day across the league isn't just the "drama" surrounding it, but also the many things outside your control.

Ultimately, you rely on players and their agents, other clubs, various law firms, and even international contract databases. Everything is happening simultaneously.

The biggest risk on deadline day is that you can't completely control the outcome.

For example, after 11 p.m., we were still coordinating with three different law firms, amending four different documents from multiple countries.

It's great to complete everything in the end, of course, and I'm glad it looked calm and organized from the outside. But it was genuinely a very stressful day. Hannah gently requested that I never put her through anything like that again.

Signing two outstanding players on the terms we ultimately achieved was a win for us. But it should never be a necessary task, because we want to avoid the overall team-building strategy depending on deadline-day deals.

That was one of our biggest regrets from last summer. The Facundo Buonanotte deal fell through, and ultimately we had to find a solution on deadline day, which we always hoped to avoid.

This year, our internal mandate was: "Don't make the entire squad-building dependent on deadline day."

Frankly, we achieved that. But at the same time, the deals we completed that day also made the squad stronger, so the end result is certainly positive.

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