Transfer windows and Leeds United don’t often marry well, the latter’s dealings in the former more often than not leaving fans feeling a sense of emptiness and an underwhelming feeling of ‘is that it?’ However, in answering a fan question, The Athletic’s Phil Hay reminded fans of what promotion would bring.
The question, from fan James H, asked about the plans that the Whites have for promotion, bearing in mind the lean nature of the current squad and the lack of depth it has. At the moment, any injury absence requires a reshuffling of the pack and the reliance on multi-position utility players able to switch from their more orthodox placement to a more left-field slot.
Hay, in his response on The Athletic, confirms that Leeds United will, of course, have plans in place for the end of the season and that any team rebuilding would depend on the league that they found themselves in. However, with this “couple of lists on the go“, Hay reminds fans of the £45million-worth of transfer the Whites would pursue as definites should promotion be confirmed this season.
The former Yorkshire Evening Post reporter, a man many fans call ‘Mister Leeds’, reminded Leeds fans that the club are obliged to pay Wolves £15million at the end of this season for Helder Costa with promotion also meaning they’d need to shell out a further £17 million-or-so to Red Bull Leipzig for Jean-Kevin Augustin.
Add to that pairing options held on Jack Harrison (£8 million – Manchester City) and Ilhan Meslier (£5 million – FC Lorient) and the Whites are looking at a promotion outlay of £45 million, give or take a little here or there.
That quartet wouldn’t obviously be the sum of Leeds’ transfer dealings over the summer should promotion to the Premier League be attained. As Hay said, it’s very likely that Leeds have their list not only prepared but that they’ve been using their in-depth scouting system to keep closer tabs on those players they are interested in.
