Phil Hay shares Leeds United transfer news as loan exodus continues
Phil Hay has shared why Leeds United have agreed to a number of loan exits this summer with the club wanting the players they recruited to accept wage reductions in the event of relegation.
The Athletic journalist, writing in his latest article (15 August) shares that makeweight for those players agreeing to substantially reduced earnings in the Championship was a separate clause allowing them to exit on a temporary basis.
The Elland Road loan exodus continued on 14 August, when attacker Jack Harrison joined Everton on a temporary basis following the likes of Max Wober, Rasmus Kristensen, Brenden Aaronson and Marc Roca in sealing loan exits after the club’s relegation.
Hay wrote: “Leeds are largely powerless to stop players from activating clauses allowing them to accept loan offers elsewhere. Harrison is the latest to leave on that basis.
“The Athletic has been told that the reason those clauses exist or were negotiated in the first place was because United wanted players there recruited in the Premier League to accept automatic wage reductions, as high as 60 per cent if the club went back down.
“The makeweight for them agreeing to substantially reduced earnings in the EFL was a separate clause allowing them to move on – and to move on fairly easily – on a temporary basis.”
Promotion could seal valuable returns
The raft of temporary exits already at Elland Road just goes to show how pivotal a potential Championship promotion could be for Daniel Farke and Leeds.
And it’s an ambition that the German coach will be under pressure to bring to reality come May.
Right now, promotion looks like an increasing impossibility with Farke suffering from a terribly depleted squad having been forced to field just eight substitutes in their recent 1-0 defeat away to Birmingham City on Saturday 12 August.
Leeds United have as many as 11 players out injured, whilst also losing as many in transfer exits and more could certainly be on the way with the likes of Wilfried Gnonto and Luis Sinisterra refusing to play for the club which has brought Farke’s immediate plans at Elland Road into disarray.
With just weeks left of the window to go, things aren’t looking promising at Elland Road and there are no guarantees the club will be able to add to the signings of Ethan Ampadu and Karl Darlow, but it’s mightily imperative they do because they could well be staring down the barrel of another relegation rather than promotion.
It could prove incredibly costly potentially being forced to permanently sell plenty of their most crucial assets.
In other Leeds news, another Premier League club have agreed to trigger the release clause of one key Elland Road figure.