Two big exits on cards at Leeds United after £190million news – Finance Expert
We’re delighted to welcome football finance expert Dr Daniel Plumley as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Leeds United...
Dan Plumley has insisted that two big exits are likely on the cards at Leeds United after their relegation from the Premier League last season.
The finance expert admitted that after bagging £190million in revenue in the last count, that will drop by £60million with parachute payments and wage reductions.
Some of the wages are sustainable at Championship level, although two exits may be needed on the larger scale to cover the losses the club will be hit by.
“This will come down to a question of ownership,” he exclusively told MOT Leeds News.
“If you play through the logic of it, you lose the revenue hit, the net difference is around £60million when you factor in parachute payments. Looking at Leeds’ revenue, it was £190million in the last count in the Premier League, the wage bill is £120million, that is sustainable in the Premier League.
“If you take £60million off that £190million, the wage bill becomes tight. That is where you have to do two things, you’ve got to hopefully have wage reduction clauses in the contracts or you start to sell players, that then gets a little bit of money through in a transfer perspective.
“We know that not all transfers are paid upfront so you’re not going to get the whole amount but you will claw some back, and then that comes off the wage bill as well. That will be the immediate thing, whether or not you can put a realistic figure on that, say £100million maybe, but they may not need to earn that high.
“You’re looking at your highest earners and the ones that have the highest sell-on value, those that would command playing in the Premier League. That’s the trick, to balance that first and foremost and then it becomes a question of the owners, and there will be an expectation for Leeds to compete at the top end of the Championship, so that’s the balance, players out versus new players in as you trim the wage bill to fall in line with the revenue.
“It’s not impossible for Leeds to do that given the figures that we’ve seen, they can sustain some of those wages in the Championship, but there will be a couple of big sales.”
In other Leeds United news, the club may now face a losing battle to keep their star player at Elland Road beyond the summer transfer window.