Leeds United need to finish Premier League job after multi-million reveal
Leeds United are the big fish in the EFL pond and always have been, which applies immense pressure to not only reach the Premier League, but sustain themselves within it.
This is becoming a more arduous task over recent years, as demonstrated by this season and last year’s Premier League tables, and the immediate drop of the three promoted clubs back to the Championship.
Leeds have four games separating them from the second tier, starting with their Good Friday evening clash with Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium (18 April).
Leeds United benefit from ‘loaded’ Championship
Should Leeds get the job done against Oxford, they will certainly have one foot into the Premier League with Daniel Farke on the cusp of a third career Championship promotion.
He would also become only the second manager after Marcelo Bielsa five years ago to get the Whites promoted to the top flight in its current format.
TV commentator and football analysis expert Ian Darke, speaking exclusively to MOT Leeds News, believes the financial gulf is unprecedented across the Championship and it works entirely in favour of those at Elland Road.
Darke described the second tier as a “loaded competition” due to parachute payments for clubs coming down from the Premier League, and used his club Portsmouth as an example of the contrast.
Agent fee amounts from 2024-25 were released by the FA earlier this week, with Leeds spending nearly £19million solely towards intermediaries while Pompey spent just over £600,000.
“There are big gaps appearing everywhere and the biggest gap is actually between the top of the Championship and the bottom of the Premier League,” Darke said.
“The teams who go up are coming straight back down again, and that’s before you start talking about the parachute payments. It seems like a loaded competition in favour of certain clubs against others in the Championship.
“The table reflects that. I follow Portsmouth and they’ve had meagre investment compared to Leeds – not that it’s any fault of theirs – but that shows in the aims for the season. That’s why Pompey will consider survival a successful season, and Leeds need to finish their job and get promoted.”
Elland Road can attract marquee signings with promotion
Leeds certainly boast a muscular financial arm, but in the Premier League it pales straight into insignificance based on the seemingly bottomless funds possessed by the country’s elite.
However, promotion would enable Farke and the Whites to gather a squad their fans can be proud of, and break the unsavoury trend of promoted clubs plummeting straight back into the Championship abyss.
| Agent fees spent by Championship clubs 2024-25 | Amount |
| LEEDS UNITED | £18,836,447 |
| Burnley | £5,305,608 |
| Sheffield United | £4,442,940 |
| Hull City | £3,179,361 |
After visiting Oxford, Leeds complete their packed Easter schedule with Monday’s fixture against Stoke City at Elland Road (21 April).