Leeds United have reportedly drawn up a £100m transfer plan in place should the club fail to secure their Premier League status for next season but the Whites must not accept defeat in their quest.
The Whites have lost three of their last four Premier League games in recent weeks conceding a whopping 14 goals in the process, leaving them just a point off Leicester City who sit in 18th.
Should Leeds lose their game against Bournemouth on Sunday [30 April and either Leicester City or Everton win in their crucial clash on Monday night [1 May], Javi Gracia and his men could find themselves in the relegation zone.
With every disappointing defeat, the club’s relegation fears deepen and according to a report in the Telegraph [29 April] Leeds United have made £100m transfer provisions to avoid another 16-year exile.
“Relegation would raise the question of how long they might stay there this time. After three seasons back in the big time, will it be another 16 – or 17 as Orta barked – years in the EFL?
“To make up for the shortfall in Premier League broadcast revenue, they at least have assets that could be sold in the summer should the worst happen. Illan Meslier, despite recent form, is highly rated by European scouts. Patrick Bamford, Tyler Adams, Brenden Aaronson and Willy Gnonto would together recoup more than £100 million.
“There is confidence that the club could cope with relegation, given players’ contracts have significant wage reductions written in, while any release clauses are at market value”, the Telegraph reveals.
While it may not be all doom and gloom if the worst happens at the end of the campaign as revealed by the report, this is not something the Leeds United officials should be entertaining in the slightest.
The message must be sprung right from the top down to the bottom throughout the club that relegation shouldn’t even be in the club’s thoughts despite these provisions being made.
What’s arguably worse than suffering a terrible drop back down to the Championship is losing the kind of players that could allow the Whites to immediately go back up for the season after the next.
Leeds United will certainly prefer losing them while being a Premier League side than as a Championship side.
The Whites do hold a number of prized assets in their weaponry, especially the likes of Gnonto, Adams, Crycensio Summerville, Brenden Aaronson and even Patrick Bamford but many of these players could form the future of the football club whether they suffer relegation or not but they’ll have more of a chance of building that sustainable future if they keep their place amongst the elite in the country.
The question remains whether Gracia and his players are well up for the task of keeping Leeds United floating above water in these remaining weeks of the season.
