George Overhill

Wed 26 July 2023 8:40, UK

Daniel Farke is being hampered in the transfer market by a lack of transfer income at Leeds United thanks to all the “low-income” loan exits, according to Leeds Live.

Max Wober is due to become the next in a long line of first-team players to exercise relegation release clauses in their contracts, with his late departure to Borussia Monchengladbach expected to be sealed “this week”.

He follows the likes of Robin Koch, Brenden Aaronson, Marc Roca and Rasmus Kristensen as Whites regulars from last term who have brought in only minimal loan fees at best, with Rodrigo’s £3million departure to Al Rayyan the most lucrative move of the window.

According to Leeds Live, the issue of “no fresh money” coming in, coupled with the unavoidable drop in pull that comes with being relegated from the Premier League is frustrating attempts to bring players in, with Karl Darlow set to join Ethan Ampadu as the only signings so far.

Beren Cross writes: “Spending at Leeds United is limited by the plethora of low-income loan exits going through, while the reality of the Championship’s limited appeal is killing off some transfer targets. At no stage has Daniel Farke pulled any punches in his assessment of this summer’s predicaments at Elland Road.

“The Whites manager is having to put the reins on his own impatience with the window as he waits for the club to find the right recipe this summer. Farke’s also made it clear neither he nor 49ers Enterprises have any interest in putting the club at risk with careless spending.”

Struggle

As relegation became increasingly inevitable at the end of last season it was seen as a small silver lining that the Leeds United squad was filled with saleable assets who could provide a transfer windfall over the summer.

Granted, many of the players who have already left would have seen their price tags fall, but coupled with parachute payments it should have put the club in a good position to spend on a promotion-cable squad.

But the revelation that the release clauses in most of the first-team’s deals were in fact for loan exits rather than moderate transfer fees has become a growing frustration as the window goes on.

It is obviously possible that strong seasons elsewhere over the next year increase transfer values and end up making the club more money down the line, but if it also undercuts the Whites’ ability to bounce back to the Premier League at the first opportunity few would argue it is a desirable trade off.

Championship stand outs such as Gustavo Hamer at Coventry City and Joel Piroe at Swansea would likely not be put off by the Whites being in the second tier if the spending power was there.

So the fact that Farke is only just closing in on his second signing with the new season just around the corner is clearly a disappointment.

Some important business may be rendered unnecessary if key Elland Road men are kept around, but Wober’s late exit has shown that can’t be banked on yet in most cases.

The manager is being realistic about the situation, and may be able to work through it either way, but he would surely have loved the revenue from selling off underperforming assets to put towards his own targets.

In other Leeds United news, the 49ers have set in motion a plan at the club that is expected to now cost £200m.