Leeds United rumours emerge from boardroom as Simon Jordan reacts to ‘shocking’ news
Simon Jordan has reacted to rumours from the Leeds United boardroom stating that the ownership was divided on whether to sell players or not.
Andrea Radrizzani is still widely expected to sell the West Yorkshire club after their relegation to the Championship was confirmed last weekend, with club sources expecting a firm proposal from the 49ers Enterprises in the next fortnight. [Daily Mail]
Speaking in his One 2 One with talkSPORT, Jordan called the club’s relegation this season a “shocking waste” after waiting 16 years for top-flight football when promoted in 2020.
“You have a boardroom mess between one part of the ownership who get to take over on the first day of the Premier League and one part of the ownership that gets to go,” he said.
“And rumours going around that one part of the ownership wanted to sell players and others didn’t.
“So, it’s a shocking waste because Leeds United have taken 16 years to get back to the Premier League and gone out in three, after having two relegation battles, one which they got away with last season and one they have suffered for.”
Muddled thinking
The leadership at Leeds over the last two years has been an absolute shambles.
After securing promotion to the Premier League, with cult hero Marcelo Bielsa at the helm, Radrizzani has somehow managed to lead the club all the way back down to the first division.
The ongoing speculation surrounding the 49ers’ takeover of the club was never going to help, and possibly their differing opinions on the long-term future of the club could explain some of the moves in the transfer market.
In the near past, it seems like the Whites have ignored the now and present and instead naively had one eye on building a team that will be great in five years time.
There was never going to be a smooth transition from the senior pros in the Leeds side, such as Luke Ayling and Patrick Bamford, to the likes of Brendan Aaronson and Willy Gnonto, considering the disparity in experience, and this muddled thinking was a major factor in the club’s relegation.
A “shocking waste” is a brilliant way of putting it by Jordan.
Leeds fans will be rueing what they let slip, and not what they have now.
In other Leeds United news, Chelsea have mocked the Whites after they were relegated from the Premier League on the final day of the 2022/23 season.