Good Morning. It's Tuesday 2nd July, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road...
Steinsson's master strokeIt's looking ever so likely that Leeds Utd Director of Football Gretar Steinsson may have pulled off a masterstroke that even Houdini would have been proud of! Negotiations have never been Leeds Utd strong point; in-fact, the bumbling buffoons at Elland Road have long been a laughing stock when it comes down to business transactions. This had led to clubs like Bournemouth and Everton taking advantage of Leeds poor management, and bullying them into submission.
Brushing sentiment aside, raising £40m for an 18 year old with one good season behind his belt is astronomical, especially with the £10m capture of Joe Rodon (NETT gain of £30m). The Welsh International was the stalwart of the Leeds defence last season, and played beyond the pain barrier to finish the season, albeit agonisingly close to winning promotion.
Did PSR force Archie saleLeeds needed to sell Archie Gray to stay the right side of Profitability and Sustainability rules, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post this morning. But this goes against every report we've heard over the past few months, claiming that the sales of Luis Sinisterra and Tyler Adams have allowed Leeds to balance their books! Respected football journalist Ben Jacobs yesterday took to twitter insisting that "Leeds believe they will comply with PSR. Never true they needed £100m in sales before July 1"
He went on to say that the Archie Gray fee (expected to be on the 2023/24 books), plus Luis Sinisterra and Tyler Adams sales to Bournemouth, and recent Red Bull investment, mean the club expect to comply with financial rules for the cycle ending 30 June, 2024.
Just when we thought loyalty was dead...Just when you thought loyalty in football was dead and buried, the actions of Joe Rodon can give us hope that the sentimentalism in football is alive and kicking, after Fabrizio Romano confirmed the £10m capture from Spurs. About a week ago, rumours started to surface that the 26 year old wanted to stay at Leeds Utd next season. In truth, none of us believed the Welsh International would pass up the opportunity for Premier League football (especially with three separate offers on the table) in favour of another term in the Championship - but that's where we are!
Whilst few of us would begrudge Archie the opportunity to progress at a bigger club, we did not expect it to happen so quickly. One minute he was kissing the sacred badge, with tears running down his cheeks, the next, making a hasty retreat to one of Europe's elite. It's funny how the Leeds Utd PR machine made a massive deal of Archie's contract extension, yet deliberately hid the fact that he had an exit clause in his terms! Relationships are built on trust, and for a long time now, it just seems like one way traffic...
