'Nothing off the table' — Graham Smyth reveals 'clever' sales Leeds United could complete this summer — YEP 16/5/25
By Joe Donnohue
YEP chief football writer Graham Smyth predicts Leeds United
will still need a 'sale or two' this summer.
The transfer window opens next month with Leeds expected to
recruit Premier League-standard players in their bid to preserve top flight
status for longer than a single season.
None of the last six newly-promoted sides have achieved
this, each succumbing to an immediate Championship return.
United's Profitability and Sustainability (PSR) headroom
will be impacted by the two years the club has spent in the second tier with
their maximum loss threshold for the three-year accounting period ending June
30, 2025 down from £82 million to £61 million. Considering the club reported a
loss of roughly £60 million for the 2023/24 season alone, in addition to a
£33.7 million loss the year prior, player sales this summer would improve the
club's financial position.
That said, the Whites do expect to receive in excess of £100
million from their restored Premier League membership by way of bumper
broadcast television deals, not to mention more lucrative commercial deals as
one of England’s biggest and best-supported clubs, now back in the spotlight.
Therefore, remaining in the division longer than a single season will go a long
way to further improving the club's PSR position.
Speaking on the Inside Elland Road podcast, YEP chief
football writer Graham Smyth gave his thoughts on Leeds' potential outgoing
business this summer.
"It's funny. You go up with this squad and they're
celebrating on the pitch at Plymouth, and they're absolute heroes for the city
on the bus parade, and then almost instantly, people start thinking about what
next.
"There's so many question marks over players who were
key even this season, there are so many who you just couldn't rule out a sale
[for], and there are so many different reasons for that, but one of the big
things I think we need to keep in mind when looking at this summer is Leeds
will probably still need a sale or two.
"Yes, you've gone up, but that doesn't necessarily mean
that you've got the headroom to make the expenditure that you want, so you
might need to do some clever wheeling and dealing, some clever accountancy. And
when you look at the squad, the players who would give you the most headroom
are actually some of those that you wouldn't naturally think: 'Yeah, we'll ship
him on.' It's even players who you think would be good enough [in the Premier
League].
"So there'll be some big decisions to make this summer
for sure, and I almost wouldn't take anything off the table. What I kept coming
back to was last summer, and how the 49ers were pretty ruthless when it came to
the Glen Kamara thing. Weren't they? I don't think he put up a huge struggle to
try and stay or anything like that. But he'd only been there a year. They saw a
chance to turn a profit and to elevate the profile of the midfield, to augment
the midfield profile with more attacking options, more assists, more goals. And
I wouldn't rule out that kind of thinking being part of it this summer, because
staying up is the absolute priority,” he said.