Leeds United are heading into the summer with the Premier League status they worked so hard for over the past 12 months. It was an excellent first campaign back at the top table of the English game, with a 14th-place finish and an eight-point buffer to relegation.However, all the noises coming from the club’s key personnel underline that they cannot afford to rest on any laurels. Chairman Paraag Marathe said: “We remain ambitious, but measured and deliberate, understanding it will take three long-fought seasons before we can truly operate like an established Premier League side.”Manager Daniel Farke has also not hidden his desire to push the club forward in the right way and ensure the club is not left standing still, which, at this level, means you are going backwards. This is another pivotal transfer window. They have to build on their foundations, without losing any of the key bricks.The information found within this article has been gathered according to The Athletic’s sourcing guidelines. Sources with knowledge of transfer dealings, who asked to be kept anonymous to protect relationships, have been spoken to before offering the clubs involved the opportunity to comment.The Athletic’s Beren Cross picks over the key questions for the window ahead at this very early stage of the summer.Who will make key decisions this window?The final sign-off for all big calls is, understandably, made by Marathe, the club’s chairman. However, he is directly informed and steered by those at the coalface below him.Ever since his appointment in 2023 as a manager, rather than a head coach, Farke has retained significant sway behind the scenes. His opinion is ultimately critical in deciding whether Leeds pursue a target or not.He will be in conversation with sporting director Adam Underwood on a daily basis this summer. Underwood carries the majority of each transfer on his back, networking with clubs, players and agents before leading the negotiations, which eventually strike an agreement or not.Managing director Robbie Evans, who has a club-wide brief across all areas of the business, will weigh in less frequently, but still has a role to play in the transfer process, notably on pitches to targets, their families and agents, where needed. Head of recruitment Alex Davies is also a key cog in the machine.Davies has a keen eye for a player and will feed prospective targets to Underwood and Farke for further consideration. Davies’s analysis of the best targets fed by the scouting and data teams is a key point in the overall process.Leeds chairman Marathe has final sign-off (Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)What positions will they be looking at in the summer window?Last summer’s 10 additions have provided a solid foundation for the 2026 window. Those arrivals raised the floor of the squad, and now United will look to raise the ceiling, particularly in attack, according to club sources.Leeds want to add difference makers in the final third. The positions those reinforcements will eventually play in will be affected by a lot of variables at play in any transfer window, but the intent is there to recruit and spend on quality at the sharp end of the pitch.Evidently, there is no natural No 10, a playmaker with flair, currently on the books at Leeds. They are also yet to pin down the left-footed, right-sided attacker they wanted on a permanent deal, after coming up short in their pursuit of Harry Wilson, while Facundo Buonanotte had a disappointing loan.The bulk of this summer’s investment is currently expected to go into that part of the pitch. However, that does not mean other areas will be ignored entirely.