Despite amassing 90 points in the regular Championship season, Daniel Farke's Leeds United still managed to slip up at the last hurdle in the second-tier play-off final.
Losing 1-0 to Southampton will sting for a number of weeks now, with the Whites having to pick themselves up off the floor quickly in order to mount a more successful promotion charge next campaign, instead of ultimately falling short again.
A number of players will now exit the building for more luxurious pastures instead of settling for the Championship, however, with the likes of Crysencio Summerville and Wilfried Gnonto already being tipped for major moves away.
Yet, that doesn't mean Leeds have to be significantly weaker sticking it out in the second tier next season, with incomings also potentially on the horizon.
Leeds could still try for ambitious transfer
Football Insider have revealed this week that Kalvin Phillips will almost certainly be a goner from Manchester City this summer, with a 'significant' fee needed to part ways according to TEAMTalk.
As a result, Leeds could find it very difficult to re-sign their former star owing to their failure to jump back up to the Premier League.
That's the case even with the unhappy Man City man allegedly 'desperate' for a return to the home comforts of Elland Road previously, with the wantaway midfielder even present at Wembley this weekend to cheer on his beloved hometown Whites.
It sounds as if will be a tall order to get a deal over the line regardless of this obvious connection to Farke's side though, but one that isn't entirely dead in the water just yet.
How Phillips compares to Glen Kamara
Farke might view Phillips as an upgrade on a lacklustre Glen Kamara who was quiet at Wembley against Southampton, with the Finnish holding midfielder winning zero duels against Russell Martin's Saints, knowing what the 28-year-old is capable of in the Championship as was previously seen under Marcelo Bielsa.
Games played
37
Goals scored
2
Assists
2
Big chances created
6
Accurate passes per game
44.9
Tackles per game
2.6
Total duels won per game
6.4
Stats by Sofascore
Leeds lacked the grit Phillips used to provide in spades for Bielsa's men in the showpiece final, seen in the table above, with his potential addition to the side ahead of the next season perhaps acting as the necessary kick the Whites need to take the division by storm after coming up short this campaign.
The Whites would have to keep their fingers crossed that Phillips could get back to his old best donning his familiar Leeds strip, considering his hefty price tag, having once been labelled as a "monster" by former Crystal Palace player Yannick Bolasie.
Accumulating 14 goals and 13 assists for the Whites from 234 appearances before an ill-fated move to Man City materialised, Phillips would still want to take either Kamara or Ilia Gruev's spot off of them on his return even with his stock dramatically falling at the Etihad.
With Gruev standing out towards the latter stages of the season, which culminated in his ingenious free-kick finding the back of the net in the play-off semi-final second leg against Norwich City, Kamara's fixed spot could now be on shaky ground if a reunion does happen.
It's not as if Farke was afraid to drop the former Rangers man before the playoffs got underway, only starting him once in the final four clashes of the regular season, and so the Bulgarian could potentially have a new holding midfield partner in Phillips to make do with next campaign.
There will be many twists and turns in this transfer saga, with Man City wanting to recoup a lot of the £45m they forked out on Phillips two years ago, but the 28-year-old could turn down many a higher-up suitor to try and feel comfortable again back in West Yorkshire.
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