Paraag Marathe on Farke, transfers, Archie Gray and stadium plans — The Athletic 29/5/24
By Phil Hay
The morning after is inevitably worse if the day before goes
awry. Paraag Marathe, Leeds United’s chairman, was reminded of that on Monday
in the wake of the club’s defeat in the Championship play-off final.
“I had a hard time getting out of bed,” he said.
Football waits for no one, and least of all a club whose
league status remained uncertain until the last week of May. With the dust
settled on Sunday’s loss to Southampton, thoughts turn immediately to the
2024-25 season: the second with Marathe as chairman, the second with 49ers
Enterprises as Leeds’ outright owner and the second in which they will seek to
recover from relegation in 2023.
Yesterday, Marathe sat down with a group of journalists to
discuss the many issues facing the club. The conversation with him ranged from
the future of manager Daniel Farke, the prospect of players leaving Elland
Road, the likelihood of Leeds holding onto star prospect Archie Gray, and the
implications for the 49ers’ major stadium redevelopment plans.
These were the key points from that discussion:
Daniel Farke’s future
The Athletic’s long read after defeat at Wembley explained
how United’s board were firmly intending to stick with Farke despite the result
— and had already drawn up pre-season plans with him.
His contract runs for another three years and the club’s
performance in his first season, in the eyes of Marathe and the 49ers’ group,
ticked many boxes: 90 points in the regular campaign, and a near-miss in the
play-off final.
The board were also sympathetic about how the machinations
of last summer — a fairly frantic takeover leading to Farke’s late arrival as
manager, and complications in the transfer market caused by both ownership
wrangling and relegation — made his job more difficult.
Marathe confirmed yesterday that Farke would be staying on
as manager. “Daniel’s been fantastic,” he said. “I’m excited about working with
him again. We set out to do this, we had a long-term plan and a long-term
commitment, not just me to him but him to me.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do and we have to see our plan
through. He’s been tremendous, with a steady hand and the right temperament.
I’m excited about getting back at it with him. I really feel confident about
this season.”
Player sales
Leeds remained compliant with the EFL’s profitability and
sustainability rules (PnS) this season but a second year in the Championship,
as opposed to an immediate return to the Premier League, was always going to
force the club to cut their cloth more substantially.
As Marathe conceded, certain players will have to be sold in
the forthcoming transfer window, to keep Leeds’ accounts in good order and
avoid a PnS breach. Championship player of the year Crysencio Summerville is
one of the most likely to depart.
Marathe, who avoided speaking at length about specific
individuals, said: “We’re well capitalised from an investment standpoint. We
have the funds to do what we need to do.
“The reality of being in the Championship is that PnS plays
a role. There will naturally need to be some trade-offs. But we have a really
good team and it’s not just outs. It’s ins as well, looking at scouting
opportunities for us.
“We’ll have to make some trade-offs because of PnS, but we
have the investment commitment to do what we need to do.”
Asked if there would be meaningful money available for fresh
arrivals ahead of next season, Marathe said: “That’s right.”
Archie Gray
Marathe was pressed on the future of Archie Gray, Leeds’
immensely gifted, 18-year-old midfielder who is arguably worth more financially
than any other player in the squad at Elland Road.
Gray is headed for big things and Leeds signed him to an
improved contract, running to 2028, recently. It is not believed to include a
release clause. There is probably no departure this summer which would
frustrate the club’s fanbase more, were United to decide to listen to offers
for him.
Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur were among
the teams who made overtures to Gray before he agreed his first professional
deal in 2023.
Marathe was asked if Gray would be off-limits in the market.
“It’s a little too early for me to answer specific questions,” he said. “I
can’t talk on specific players right now.
“If I can paint the big picture, there are certain things we
need to do and we’ll make sure we’re fully compliant with PnS. There are
certain trade-offs we have to make. We have to get to the drawing board to work
out which moves we have to make.
“Obviously, Archie’s a tremendous player, but every season
brings change. I can’t yet comment but we’ll see what happens.”
Marathe admitted, however, that fan sentiment could play a
role in decisions taken over the next few months.
“You’re thinking about the impact on and off the pitch,” he
said. “I just ask that supporters trust that we have a plan and a process. Our
commitment is to be among the best in the Championship.”
Profit and Sustainability pressures
Leeds’ current financial year ends on June 30, a little over
a month from now. Marathe was asked whether compliance with PnS for the 2023-24
period would rely on Leeds rushing through certain sales before that date — a
pressure some other English clubs are feeling.
“Pressure’s probably the wrong word,” he said. “Are we going
to do what we need to do to make sure we are compliant? Absolutely but
everything we have to do we’ve been contemplating for almost a year now,
recognising some of the trade-offs we have to make and when we have to make
them.
“We’re prepared to make the moves we have to make.”
Leeds’ parachute payments — the funding relegated clubs
receive for up to three years after they come down from the Premier League —
will decrease next season. The three-year loss limit they face in the
Championship is also coming down, from £83m ($106m) over a three-year cycle to
£61m ($78m).
Having narrowly missed out on promotion, Marathe faced
questions about how crucial it was for United to find a way back into the
Premier League at the second time of asking, before financial hurdles became
even steeper.
“Every year is critical,” he said. “This past season was
critical. We almost got there. I’m more confident (now) because we have more
time to execute our plan and make sure this year’s squad looks exactly how we
want it to look.”
Returning loanees
One of the big frustrations for Leeds last summer was the
exodus of existing squad members on season-long loans. Relegation clauses in
numerous player contracts gave them the right to depart after Leeds went down,
provided the club they joined on a temporary basis picked up their salary in
full.
The exits included Jack Harrison to Everton, Brenden
Aaronson to Union Berlin, Marc Roca to Real Betis, Robin Koch to Eintracht
Frankfurt and Max Wober to Borussia Monchengladbach. The clauses meant Leeds
were powerless to block those exits — and in no position to recoup meaningful
transfer fees via permanent deals.
Harrison is one player with the right to go out on loan
again this summer but The Athletic has been told that only one other loan
clause remains active. Those aside, the club will have significantly more
control over outgoing business.
“Fortunately, we don’t have as many of those situations as
we had last year,” Marathe said. “We also aren’t in a race against time. At
this point last year, I think we were still 12 days away from finalising the
transaction to take over the club.
“The chemistry of the squad is important — which players fit
versus which don’t. It was difficult last year having to deal with this and
it’s not as difficult any more. We’re not sitting back as the passive club. I’m
not willing to concede that there will or won’t be a profit on certain
players.”
Transfer fees owed
Leeds’ latest accounts painted a very stark picture of the
cash still owed for transfers made in previous seasons. The figures for the
2022-23 year showed £73m ($93m) due in the 12 months that followed, and a
further £116m ($148m) due at later dates.
At face value, those figures represent huge amounts for a
Championship club, though Marathe pointed out that since the end of the 2022-23
period, Leeds have sold Luis Sinisterra and Tyler Adams to Bournemouth, for
fees worth more than £40m ($51m) combined.
“You’ve seen a lot of the numbers,” he said. “The outbound
transfer payments we have to make, they were already contemplated as we went
about going through the (takeover) transaction. It was reflected in the
acquisition. We inherited a credit card bill we had to take care of and we made
sure we have the investment to be covered on that.
“The second thing is that what’s not in those numbers are
some of the inbound numbers. The net is already a little bit lower. We have
what we need to be competitive.”
Stadium plans
Since their promotion to the Premier League in 2020, Leeds
have spoken repeatedly about substantially redeveloping their Elland Road
stadium.
The ground is old and a capacity of 36,000 (combined with
behind-the-times corporate facilities) limits Leeds’ earning potential in
comparison to other big clubs. But to date, plans to create a venue that holds
crowds of 50,000-plus has not reached the construction stage.
Promotion would have restored Premier League income
overnight, begging the question of whether major development of Elland Road can
proceed as hoped.
“We’re still very much on the timeline to doing that,”
Marathe insisted. “It’s been reported that nothing’s going to happen until we
get to the Premier League — that’s a little bit of a myth.
“All of the make-ready work we have to do before shovels in
the ground, it really didn’t matter if we were in the Championship or the
Premier League. There’s still work being done and significant investment to
line up all the things you do before you put a shovel in the ground. We’d be
doing that anyway, and we’re continuing down that path.
