Brad Arthur delivers Leeds Rhinos transfer update after Ashton Golding rumours

Leeds Rhinos coach Brad Arthur insists he is ‘very happy’ with the squad he has assembled for 2026 – but has refused to rule out making further additions.

So far, Leeds have added just three new faces to their group for next season with Danny Levi, Jeremiah Mata’utia and Leigh Leopards star Ethan O’Neill making the switch to AMT Headingley.

There were rumours last week that the Rhinos were in talks over a surprise deal to bring Ashton Golding back to the club, but they were knocked back by sporting director Ian Blease while the club are in Tenerife on a pre-season training camp.

But Arthur has admitted Leeds are still on the lookout for new talent, and while their salary cap situation is ‘tight’, they are not ruling out the prospect of more business.

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“We’re very happy with our squad we’ve put together,” he told the media on Thursday.

“Bleasey has done a really good job. We’re always looking to improve and I say that all the time, so there’s never a situation where we say we’re going not going to have players or we are.

“If the right player becomes available to add to our squad or strengthen our squad, then we’ll always look at it. The salary cap at the moment is tight and that’s warranted when you look at the senior players we have in our group.”

When asked for a possible area of the squad he would be looking to strengthen in, Arthur insisted there was not one priority. But he did name-check the situation with their half-back duo Jake Connor and Brodie Croft, admitting that teenager George Brown has potentially shown he could step in and fill the void rather than force Leeds’ hand in the transfer market.

He said: “Every year you hope that your senior players and key position players can get through a season unscathed. But you’ve got to have backup plans if that doesn’t happen.

“We’ve got two really exciting halves in Crofty and Jake, and if one of them was to get injured, young Browny has showed in our sessions and he’s going to get an opportunity on Boxing Day, he’s showed he’d be more than capable with the support around him to step up. What it does is when you get those injuries or you have a player missing, it provides an opportunity for someone else.”