The morning after is inevitably worse if the day before goes awry. Paraag Marathe, Leeds United’s chairman, was reminded of that on Monday in the wake of the club’s defeat in the Championship play-off final.
“I had a hard time getting out of bed,” he said.
Football waits for no one, and least of all a club whose league status remained uncertain until the last week of May. With the dust settled on Sunday’s loss to Southampton, thoughts turn immediately to the 2024-25 season: the second with Marathe as chairman, the second with 49ers Enterprises as Leeds’ outright owner and the second in which they will seek to recover from relegation in 2023.
Yesterday, Marathe sat down with a group of journalists to discuss the many issues facing the club. The conversation with him ranged from the future of manager Daniel Farke, the prospect of players leaving Elland Road, the likelihood of Leeds holding onto star prospect Archie Gray, and the implications for the 49ers’ major stadium redevelopment plans.
These were the key points from that discussion.
Daniel Farke’s future
The Athletic’s long read after defeat at Wembley explained how United’s board were firmly intending to stick with Farke despite the result — and had already drawn up pre-season plans with him.
His contract runs for another three years and the club’s performance in his first season, in the eyes of Marathe and the 49ers’ group, ticked many boxes: 90 points in the regular campaign, and a near-miss in the play-off final.
The board were also sympathetic about how the machinations of last summer — a fairly frantic takeover leading to Farke’s late arrival as manager, and complications in the transfer market caused by both ownership wrangling and relegation — made his job more difficult.
Marathe confirmed yesterday that Farke would be staying on as manager. “Daniel’s been fantastic,” he said. “I’m excited about working with him again. We set out to do this, we had a long-term plan and a long-term commitment, not just me to him but him to me.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do and we have to see our plan through. He’s been tremendous, with a steady hand and the right temperament. I’m excited about getting back at it with him. I feel confident about this season.”
Player sales
Leeds remained compliant with the English Football League’s profitability and sustainability (PnS) rules this season but a second year in the Championship, as opposed to an immediate return to the Premier League, was always going to force the club to cut their cloth more substantially.
As Marathe conceded, certain players will have to be sold in the forthcoming transfer window, to keep Leeds’ accounts in good order and avoid a PnS breach. Championship player of the year Crysencio Summerville is one of the most likely to depart.
Marathe, who avoided speaking at length about specific individuals, said: “We’re well capitalised from an investment standpoint. We have the funds to do what we need to do.
“The reality of being in the Championship is that PnS plays a role. There will naturally need to be some trade-offs. But we have a really good team and it’s not just outs. It’s ins as well, looking at scouting opportunities for us.
“We’ll have to make some trade-offs because of PnS, but we have the investment commitment to do what we need to do.”
Asked if there would be meaningful money available for fresh arrivals before next season, Marathe said: “That’s right.”
Archie Gray
Marathe was pressed on the future of Archie Gray, Leeds’ immensely gifted 18-year-old midfielder who is arguably worth more financially than any other player at Elland Road.
Gray is headed for big things and Leeds signed him to an improved contract, running to 2028, recently. It does not include a release clause. There is probably no departure this summer to frustrate the club’s fanbase more.
Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur were among the teams who made overtures to Gray before he agreed his first professional deal in 2023.
Marathe was asked if Gray would be off-limits in the market. “It’s a little too early to answer specific questions,” he said. “I can’t talk on specific players right now.
“If I can paint the big picture, there are certain things we need to do and we’ll make sure we’re fully compliant with PnS. There are certain trade-offs we have to make. We have to get to the drawing board to work out which moves we have to make.
“Obviously, Archie’s a tremendous player, but every season brings change. I can’t yet comment but we’ll see what happens.”
Marathe admitted, however, that fan sentiment could play a role in decisions taken over the next few months.
“You’re thinking about the impact on and off the pitch,” he said. “I just ask that supporters trust that we have a plan and a process. Our commitment is to be among the best in the Championship.”
Profitability and sustainability pressures
Leeds’ current financial year ends on June 30, a little over a month from now. Marathe was asked whether compliance with PnS for the 2023-24 period would rely on Leeds rushing through certain sales before that date — a pressure some other English clubs are feeling.
“Pressure’s probably the wrong word,” he said. “Are we going to do what we need to do to make sure we are compliant? Absolutely but everything we have to do we’ve been contemplating for almost a year now, recognising some of the trade-offs we have to make and when we have to make them.
“We’re prepared to make the moves we have to make.”
Leeds’ parachute payments — the funding relegated clubs receive for up to three years after they come down from the Premier League — will decrease next season. The three-year loss limit they face in the Championship is also coming down, from £83million ($106m) over a three-year cycle to £61m.
Having narrowly missed out on promotion, Marathe faced questions about how crucial it was for United to find a way back into the Premier League at the second time of asking, before financial hurdles became even steeper.
“Every year is critical,” he said. “This past season was critical. We almost got there. I’m more confident (now) because we have more time to execute our plan and make sure this year’s squad looks exactly how we want it to look.”
Returning loanees
One of the big frustrations for Leeds last summer was the exodus of existing squad members on season-long loans. Relegation clauses in player contracts gave some first-team regulars the right to depart after Leeds went down, provided the club they temporarily joined picked up their salary in full.
The exits included Jack Harrison to Everton, Brenden Aaronson to Union Berlin, Marc Roca to Real Betis, Robin Koch to Eintracht Frankfurt and Max Wober to Borussia Monchengladbach. The clauses meant Leeds were powerless to block those exits — and in no position to recoup meaningful transfer fees via permanent deals.
Harrison is one player with the right to go out on loan again this summer but The Athletic has been told that only one other loan clause remains active. Those aside, the club will have significantly more control over outgoing business.
“Fortunately, we don’t have as many of those situations as we had last year,” Marathe said. “We also aren’t in a race against time. At this point last year, we were still 12 days away from finalising the transaction to take over the club.
“The chemistry of the squad is important — which players fit versus which don’t. It was difficult last year having to deal with this and it’s not as difficult any more. We’re not sitting back as the passive club. I’m not willing to concede that there will or won’t be a profit on certain players.”
Transfer fees owed
Leeds’ latest accounts painted a very stark picture of the cash still owed for transfers made in previous seasons. The figures for the 2022-23 year showed £73m due in the 12 months that followed, and a further £116m due at later dates.
At face value, those figures represent huge amounts for a Championship club, though Marathe pointed out that since the end of the 2022-23 period, Leeds have sold Luis Sinisterra and Tyler Adams to Bournemouth, for fees worth more than £40m combined.
“You’ve seen a lot of the numbers,” he said. “The outbound transfer payments we have to make, they were already contemplated as we went about going through the (takeover) transaction. It was reflected in the acquisition. We inherited a credit card bill we had to take care of and we made sure we have the investment to be covered on that.
“The second thing is that what’s not in those numbers are some of the inbound numbers. The net is already a little bit lower. We have what we need to be competitive.”
Stadium plans
Since their promotion to the Premier League in 2020, Leeds have spoken repeatedly about substantially redeveloping their Elland Road stadium.
The ground is old and a capacity of 36,000 (combined with behind-the-times corporate facilities) limits Leeds’ earning potential in comparison to other big clubs. But plans to create a venue that holds crowds of 50,000-plus have not reached the construction stage.
Promotion would have restored Premier League income overnight, begging the question of whether major development of Elland Road can proceed as hoped.
“We’re still very much on the timeline to doing that,” Marathe insisted. “It’s been reported that nothing’s going to happen until we get to the Premier League — that’s a little bit of a myth.
“All of the make-ready work we have to do before shovels in the ground, it really didn’t matter if we were in the Championship or the Premier League. There’s still work being done and significant investment to line up all the things you do before you put a shovel in the ground. We’d be doing that anyway, and we’re continuing down that path.
“If you ask me a year from now, it might be a little bit more complicated because at that point, I’d be ready with a shovel. But everything is green-lit, as it would have in either case.”
(Top photos: Getty Images)