Leeds United could be set for £45m payment from Premier League to fund new signings – Phil Hay
Leeds United could be set for a £45million payment from the Premier League if they are relegated this season.
According to The Athletic’s Phil Hay, the Whites would be financially aided if they do drop down to the Championship due to the parachute payment scheme.
And Hay believes that money could be used to fund new signings ahead of the new campaign.
“The EFL has just renegotiated its TV deal with UK broadcaster Sky Sports but the figures involved are still a world away from the cash earned by the Premier League through such rights,” Hay wrote for The Athletic.
“Last season, for example, Leeds’ central distributions were £95million – more than three times Nottingham Forest’s entire turnover in the Championship that year. So at a stroke, a large chunk of that funding disappears with relegation.
“But as it has for years now, the parachute payment scheme exists between the Premier League and the Championship, giving those clubs who go down assistance to cope with the financial hit of dropping divisions.
“In year one back in the EFL, Leeds would receive 55 per cent of the basic payment made to Premier League clubs – around £45 million. If they then fail to bounce straight back, the year two figure drops to 45%. In year three, the final season of parachute payments, it’s 20%.”
Not all doom and gloom
It’s definitely not an ideal situation for Leeds to be in as they flirt with Premier League relegation, but it could, of course, be worse.
The Whites are dangerously close to dropping back down to the Championship after a few seasons in the top flight, but this money would give them a real opportunity of bouncing straight back up should their worst fears come true this season.
It could be used to fund a new and improved squad, and would give the Whites a major advantage over the majority of their Championship rivals.
It isn’t all doom and gloom then, but Premier League safety really is a whole other ball game, with the incentives available to those playing regular top flight football miles better than those in the EFL.
Leeds will need all the help they can get if they cannot avoid the drop, which seems like a real possibility given their precarious position in the table with just one match remaining.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites are reportedly in a transfer battle with Newcastle and West Ham to sign one Blackburn Rovers ace this summer.