Phil Hay: Relegation would kill Leeds’ plans financially
Phil Hay has shared that Leeds United simply can’t afford to be relegated from the Premier League this season.
Coming up and beating Norwich on Sunday saw claims such as “yo-yo club” being thrown at the Canaries, something the Whites have no business being called.
Hay insisted that the wage bill has gone through the roof over the past year under Andrea Radrizzani – doubling from £50million.
Writing in his latest piece for The Athletic, Hay insisted that relegation would kill future plans such as reconstruction at Elland Road.
“Leeds, to put it plainly, have too much at stake to let this season get out of hand,” he wrote. “They have a wage bill which looks like PAYE on steroids compared to the salary costs Andrea Radrizzani inherited from Massimo Cellino in 2017.
“It is understood to have doubled or thereabouts, up from £50million during Radrizzani’s first Premier League season.
“The club have majority and minority shareholders who have seen enough of the EFL and it’s flagship, loss-making division to know that they have no business there.
“And much of their future planning is predicated on the construction of a bigger stadium, something which has always depended on continuing Premier League football. Hell, in the minds of the directors at Leeds, is another set of Championship accounts.”
Last thing we need.
This is where the San Francisco 49ers certainly come into play.
Paraag Marathe has made it no secret that the American consortium plan to help transform the Whites, starting with the stadium.
Hay has already shared that more investment is expected from the United States before the end of this season, and if not then, over the summer next year.
That is why the figures won’t worry the likes of Radrizzani too much, as he knows that the 49ers will carry on investing until they likely take full control of the club in the future.
Looking at matters on the pitch, form will be expected to improve after getting that vital win yesterday, and hopefully, some of our injured big names will return too.
Once the likes of Patrick Bamford and Luke Ayling return, the pressure to pick up points will be expected no matter who the opposition.
Relegation? No one is thinking about that right now.
In other Leeds United news, Paul Merson has dropped a huge transfer claim on one Whites star with an imminent exit on the cards