Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe on Farke, transfers, Archie Gray and stadium plans

The next day is inevitably worse if the day before goes wrong. Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe was reminded of this on Monday following the club’s defeat in the Championship play-off final.

“It was hard to get out of bed,” he said.

Football waits for no one, least of all a club whose league status remained uncertain until the last week of May. With the dust settled on Sunday’s defeat to Southampton, thoughts immediately turn to the 2024-25 season: the second with Marathe as chairman, the second with 49ers Enterprises as the outright owner of Leeds and the second in which they will look to recover from to 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 on to star prospect Archie Gray and the implications for the 49ers’ major stadium redevelopment plans.

These were the key points from that discussion:

The future of Daniel Farke

The AthleticRead long after the Wembley defeat explained how United’s board are adamant about sticking with Farke despite the result – and have already drawn up pre-season plans with him.

His contract extends for three more years, and the club’s performance in his first season, in the eyes of Marathe and the 49ers group, ticked a lot of boxes: 90 points in the regular campaign and a near-miss in the play-off final the

The board were also sympathetic to how the machinations of last summer – a rather frantic takeover that led to Farke’s late arrival as manager and complications in the transfer market caused by both ownership disputes and and demotion – made his job more difficult.

Marathe confirmed yesterday that Farke will stay on as manager. “Daniel was fantastic,” he said. “I’m excited to work 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 have a lot of work to do and we have to complete our plan. He was extraordinary, with a firm hand and the right temperament. I’m excited to be back at it with him. I feel really confident this season.”

Player sales

Leeds have remained within the EFL’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 make more substantial cuts.

As Marathe admitted, certain players will need to be sold in the next 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 leave.

Marathe, who avoided talking at length about specific individuals, said: “We are well capitalized from an investment point of view. We have the funds to do what we need to do.

“The reality of being in the championship is that PnS plays a role. Naturally, there will have to be some compromises. But we have a very good team and it’s not just exits. It is also ins, looking for scouting opportunities for us.

“We will have to make some compromises because of PnS, but we have the investment commitment to do what we have to do.”

Asked if there would be significant money available for new arrivals ahead of next season, Marathe said: “There is.”

Archie Gray

Marathe has been pressed by the future of Archie Gray, Leeds’ hugely talented 18-year-old midfielder who is arguably worth more financially than any other player in the squad at Elland Road.

Gray is on his way to big things and Leeds recently signed him to an improved contract that runs until 2028. It is not believed to include a release clause. There is probably no departure this summer that would frustrate the club’s fan base more, should United decide to listen to offers for him.

Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur were among the teams to make overtures to Gray ahead of his first professional contract in 2023.

Marathe was asked if Gray would be banned from the market. “It’s a little too early for me to answer specific questions,” he said. “I can’t talk about certain players at the moment.

“If I can present the big picture, there are certain things that we need to do and we will ensure that we are fully compliant with the PnS. There are certain compromises we have to make. We need to get to the drawing board to determine what moves we need to make.

“Obviously Archie is a great player, but every season brings changes. I can’t comment yet, but we’ll see what happens.”

Marathe admitted, however, that fan sentiment could play a role in decisions made over the next few months.

“You think about the impact on and off the field,” he said. “I just ask that the fans trust that we have a plan and a process. Our commitment is to be among the best in the league.”

Pressures on profit and sustainability

Leeds’ current financial year ends on June 30, over a month from now. Marathe was asked if meeting the PnS for 2023-24 would rely on Leeds rushing through certain sales before that date – a pressure other English clubs feel.

“Pressure is probably the wrong word,” he said. “Are we going to do what we need to do to make sure we comply? Absolutely, but we’ve been thinking about everything we have to do for almost a year now, recognizing some of the trade-offs we have to make and when we have to make them.

“We’re ready to make the moves we need to make.”

Leeds’ parachute payments – the funding relegated clubs receive for up to three years after being relegated from the Premier League – will drop next season. The three-year loss cap they face in the Championship also drops from £83m ($106m) over a three-year cycle to £61m ($78m USD).

Having narrowly missed out on promotion, Marathe faced questions about how crucial it was for United to find a way back to the Premier League at the second time of asking, before the financial hurdles became even steeper.

“Every year is critical,” he said. “Last season was critical. I’m almost there. I’m more confident (now) because we have more time to execute our plan and make sure this year’s team looks exactly the way we want it to look.”

Returning borrowers

One of the big frustrations for Leeds last summer was the exodus of existing squad members on season-long loans. Relegation clauses in numerous player contracts gave them the right to leave after Leeds were relegated, provided the club they temporarily joined paid their full wages.

Departures 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 had no power to block those exits – and could not recoup significant transfer fees through permanent deals.

Harrison is a player eligible to go out on loan again this summer, but The Athletic he was told that only one other loan clause remained active. In addition to these, the club will have significantly more control over the outgoing business.

“Fortunately, we don’t have as many of these situations as last year,” Marathe said. “Also, we are not in a race against time. At this time last year I think there were 12 days left until the takeover deal for the club was complete.

“Team chemistry is important – which players fit in versus which don’t. Last year it was hard to deal with and it’s not as hard anymore. We don’t sit back like the passive club. I’m not willing to admit that there will or won’t be a profit for certain players.”

Transfer fees due

Leeds’ latest accounts gave a very clear picture of the cash still owed on transfers made in previous seasons. Figures for the year 2022-2023 showed £73 million ($93 million) due in the 12 months that followed, and a further £116 million ($148 million) due at a later date.

At face value, these figures represent huge sums for a Championship club, although Marathe pointed out that since the end of the 2022-23 campaign, Leeds have sold Luis Sinisterra and Tyler Adams to Bournemouth for fees in excess of £40m ($51 million). ) combined.

“You’ve seen a lot of numbers,” he said. “The transfer payments that we have to make have already been taken into account as we were going through the (takeover) deal. It was reflected in the purchase. We inherited a credit card bill that needed to be taken care of and we made sure we had the investment to cover that.

“The second thing is that what’s not in those numbers are some of the input numbers. The net is already a bit lower. We have what it takes to be competitive.”

Stadium plans

Since promotion to the Premier League in 2020, Leeds have repeatedly spoken of a substantial redevelopment of their Elland Road stadium.

The ground is old and a capacity of 36,000 (combined with behind-the-scenes corporate facilities) limits Leeds’ earning potential compared to other big clubs. But to date, plans to create a venue that can accommodate more than 50,000 spectators have not reached the construction stage.

Promotion would have restored Premier League revenue overnight, raising the question of whether the major development at Elland Road can go ahead as hoped.

“We are still very much on schedule to do that,” Marathe insisted. “It’s been reported that nothing will happen until we get to the Premier League – that’s a bit of a myth.

“All the preparation work we have to do before we hit the ground running, it really didn’t matter if we were in the Championship or the Premier League. There is still significant work and investment to align all the things you do before you put a shovel in the ground. We would do that anyway and continue on this path.

“If you ask me in a year, it might be a little more complicated because at that point I would be ready with a shovel. But everything now has the green light, as it would in both cases.”