Phil Hay shares Leeds transfer pressure with FFP news after Ethan Ampadu move
Leeds United will have to navigate financial fair play rules this summer with the new owners’ ability to invest limited while outside of the Premier League, according to Phil Hay.
Daniel Farke and the 49ers’ summer business is finally underway with the £7m acquisition of Chelsea and Wales defender Ethan Ampadu confirmed on July 19, but there is little chance that there will be huge fees being spent at Elland Road.
While the takeover of Leeds was slowly but ultimately approved, fans have seen the likes of Rodrigo Moreno and Brendan Aaronson already depart, and Wilfried Gnonto and Ilian Meslier are consistently linked with moves away.
But the Athletic’s Hay says that he believes the signing of Ampadu shows how Leeds’ new owners are likely to operate. Discussing the Welshman’s transfer, he wrote: “Paying £7m for Ampadu is the first sign of how 49ers Enterprises intends to go at this window.
“There are limits on how much the group can invest in the EFL and financial fair play pressures which will have to be managed but for as long as its takeover of Andrea Radrizzani was awaiting approval, the talk was of an aggressive approach to the transfer market.
“Aggressive in terms of the players Leeds tried to sign and aggressive in terms of the players they tried to retain. Ampadu represents a big splash in the sense that a £10m agreement is a relatively sizeable package in the Championship.”
Different ball game
There has been so much talk about Leeds’ transfer business in recent years, with former owner Radrizzani discussing the mistakes that he believes lead to relegation last season. But the signing of Ampadu feels like one that can’t really go wrong.
Most clubs in the Championship dream of being able to spend a potential £10m on a single player, yet the Welshman represents value for that money. To be only 22 years old with over 40 senior international caps across the backline and midfield gives him experience far beyond his years.
On top of that he has Premier League, Serie A and Bundesliga experience and while some will point to the fact he has suffered three consecutive relegations, that unfortunate record goes far beyond his individual performances.
Farke knows what is required to escape the Championship, winning the division twice without splashing millions of pounds every window. The links to slightly shrewd accquisitions like Ampadu and the linked Karl Darlow represent quality additions that won’t see the FFP rules stretched too far.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites have set their price for their young Norwegian defender amid Serie A interest