49ers plans at Leeds United and Elland Road rest on Daniel Farke
Daniel Farke has to win promotion with Leeds United this season for 49ers Enterprises’ Elland Road plans to come to fruition, according to The Telegraph.
The news outlet reported on its online edition [3 October] that with United’s owners planning on expanding Elland Road into a 53,000-capacity stadium, their “vision” rests on the club returning to the Premier League.
Having won 90 Championship points last season before losing to Southampton in the play-off final, the 49ers kept faith with Farke as the man to lead the Whites back to the top flight.
Farke previously won the Championship title twice with Norwich City in 2019 and 2021, and his United side are currently sat fifth in the table with 15 points after eight matches.
Daniel Farke has to deliver promotion at Leeds United this season
The Whites are still feeling the bitter and brutal reality of relegation from the Premier League two seasons ago, with Profit and Sustainability Restrictions forcing them to sell star players since their demotion.
No sale this summer hurt more than that of 18-year-old academy sensation Archie Gray to Tottenham and, in order to prevent further turmoil down the line, winning promotion in 2025 is vital.
Failure to win promotion for the second year running would not only postpone the 49ers’ Elland Road development plans, it would also see their Premier League parachute payments massively reduced.
That could result in another summer fire sale on a different stratosphere to the one seen in LS11 this summer, and see blueprints for a new Elland Road be put to the torch in a bid to save on heating bills so to speak.
The risk of staying in the second tier is clear for the 49ers, and if at any point this season they feel Farke isn’t the man to deliver promotion, United’s owners won’t hesitate to show him the door.
In other Leeds United news, one Elland Road star won’t be the flavour of the month on international duty after what he said recently.
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