Southampton and Ipswich Town continue to irritate Leeds United after promotion saga: View | OneFootball

Daniel Farke's side have been handed a double blow this summer by the Premier League pair

Leeds United would be forgiven for thinking that being pipped to promotion by Ipswich Town and Southampton was enough pain inflicted, but the latter pair's transfer business has rubbed further salt in the Elland Road wound.

The Yorkshire club came painfully close to sealing their return to the Premier League at the end of last season, bowing out in the play-off final in a 1-0 loss to Southampton at Wembley.

Were it not for the surprise package of Kieran McKenna's Ipswich, it is highly likely the previous cohort of relegated top-flight teams - Leicester City, Southampton and Leeds - would have all taken just one attempt to make their return.

That was not to be, however, as the Whites remain in the second tier. To add insult to injury, two of their former promotion competitors are now hoovering up their past targets.

Charlie Taylor is a well-known figure at Elland Road, having spent the early portion of his career with the club and going on to make 104 appearances for their first team, before leaving on a free transfer to Burnley back in 2017.

Leeds have been linked with a move to bring Taylor back to the club frequently over the past 12 months due to their well-known full-back gaps.

Taylor; known by the club, born locally and with bags of Premier League and Championship experience, looked the ideal fit, but this summer saw the sudden end of their pursuit when he was announced as a Saints player on 1 July, just weeks after they had downed Leeds at Wembley.

Leeds United also lose out in Ben Johnston transfer battle to Ipswich Town

Seeing one of your recent transfer targets go to a team that recently denied your club promotion is annoying. Seeing that happen twice in one window is even worse. Having them both land on the same day feels like some sort of personal attack.

As the ink was still drying on Taylor's contract at St Mary's, another full-back and former Leeds target was agreeing his own deal with Ipswich.

Having turned down multiple contract offers from his former club West Ham due to a lack of assurance over his playing time, Ben Johnson looked like an ideal low-cost solution for Leeds' full-back dilemma, with years ahead of him to develop further.

Leeds were thought to have a strong interest in the 24-year-old during the January window, but nothing came of it at the time.

Had the Whites gained promotion, and been in a similar position to where Ipswich currently find themselves, it seems likely that a deal was there to be done - the Premier League is where Johnson will remain though with Kieran McKenna's side.

Leeds United are already feeling the impact of their promotion miss

As frustrating as both of these moves will be for Leeds, watching on from the outside, it makes perfect sense for both players to be lured away with the offer of regular Premier League football.

However, the impact of Farke's side missing out on promotion has not only been felt from the outside, but inside Elland Road too.

Just a day after the double whammy of Taylor and Johnson, young Leeds starlet Archie Gray departed the club for Tottenham Hotspur.

As Gray had been filling in at right-back for much of this season, it is not only frustrating that he's another sign of what was lost at Wembley against the Saints, but also because it means even more full-back cover will be required in this window.

The only silver lining here is that the sale of the 18-year-old means the Whites will have greater funds to go out into the market and meet their squad needs, ready for another promotion push next term.

Seeing Ipswich and Southampton land their targets will bring into sharp focus what Leeds missed out on in that tight play-off final game, but rather than becoming bogged down in the frustration of it all, they must use it as a motivator to get the job done next time round.