'The very last penny' — Paraag Marathe sends strongest possible Leeds United transfer message fans will love — YEP 4/5/25

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By Kyle Newbould

Leeds United look set for a busy summer as they prepare for their Premier League return.

Leeds United will spend every available penny this summer in a bid to buck the Premier League’s recent relegation trend, chairman Paraag Marathe has confirmed.

Marathe joined Daniel Farke and his players on the pitch at Home Park on Saturday as Leeds celebrated their Championship title triumph with victory over Plymouth Argyle, but focus is already turning to a busy summer in which 49ers Enterprises will recruit for Premier League survival. Reinforcements will be needed across the board if they are to avoid the fate of all three newly-promoted teams in suffering instant relegation this season.

Leeds have had to balance the books in recent windows with big-money moves for Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter - who left last summer for a combined £108million. But the promise of Premier League revenue for at least one season opens up the door to spend, albeit Profitability and Sustainability rules (PSR) still need to be adhered to.

Leeds posted a £60.8m loss in their published accounts from the 2023/24 campaign and will once again need to work behind the scenes to remain within PSR boundaries. But while funds will not be infinite in West Yorkshire this summer, they will certainly be more readily available and Marathe insists what can be spent, will be spent.

Paraag Marathe’s Leeds United transfer message

“Whatever they will let us spend, we’ll spend,” Marathe told the Financial Times. “I can comfortably say that we are going to spend the very last penny that we can.” The FT story also cites Marathe suggesting ‘tens of millions’ of pounds will be raised through Leeds’ shareholders, with the Whites chairman adding: “It’s what we need to go full tilt for the next three years.”

Leeds will certainly need to spend if they are to survive, with promotion merely another step in the journey towards becoming an established top-flight outfit - a goal 49ers Enterprises have made no secret of. Farke’s squad is widely agreed to have been the best in the Championship this season but the bridge to the Premier League is huge.

All three teams who pipped Leeds to promotion last season have suffered instant relegation, with Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton enduring miserable campaigns. Their fate means all of the last six teams to rise up through the Championship have gone straight back down - a concerning trend.

“I’m under no illusions that it’s going to be easy... there’s an argument to be made that there’s a widening gap [between the Premier League and the Championship]. With all due respect to the other clubs, I think we’re different. We have an opportunity and we have scale that nobody else has.”

Marathe is yet to publicly comment on speculation surrounding Farke, whose job has been a hot topic of national newspaper reports since Leeds won promotion on Easter Monday. The German was spotted enjoying the post-match celebrations with his chairman on Saturday, having guided his side to the second-tier title and an incredible 100-point tally.

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