Leeds transfers, future Archie Gray and Daniel Farke: Chairman Paraag Marathe discusses summer plans | Football news

Leeds chairman Paraag Marathe spoke to Sky Sports to discuss a range of topics from Daniel Farke’s future, the likelihood of keeping Archie Gray and what business the club can do this summer…

There has been speculation over Daniel Farke’s future. Can you clarify that it will stay?

Daniel was fantastic and I’m excited to work with him again next season. We had a long-term plan and commitment, and we have a lot of work to do to bring our plan to fruition. He was extraordinary, with a firm hand, with the right temperament. If you consider the circumstances under which he came, he did an extraordinary job. I’m excited to be back with him as a partner and our leadership team. I feel confident this season because we have at least a four or five week head start on what we had last year.

Will key players have to be sold this summer?

We are well capitalized from an investment point of view. We have the funds we need to do what we need to do. The reality of being in the Championship is that profitability and sustainability (P&S) play a role. I also inherited a difficult situation, so naturally there will be some compromises. But we also have a very good team and it’s not just about the outs, it’s about the ins. We are looking at scouting opportunities and players we can bring in. We will have to make some compromises because of P&S, but we have the investment commitment to do what we have to do.

So will there be money to be spent to bring in players?

This is correct.

Will Archie Gray still be a Leeds United player when the transfer window closes?

It’s a little too early to answer specific questions. I can’t talk about specific players right now. If I can give you the big picture, there are certain things that we have to do and we’re going to make sure that we’re fully compliant with P&S, as we always have been, and there are certain trade-offs that we have to make. We’ll get to the drawing board and figure out what moves we need to make to make sure we comply. It’s too early to say that obviously Archie is a great player, as are all the players who have put in so much effort for us, but every season brings change. I can’t comment yet, but we’ll see what happens.

What happens to those players who are contracted to the club such as Jack Harrison, Max Wober, Marc Roca, Brenden Aaronson, Diego Llorente and Rasmus Kristiansen?

We need to sit down as a leadership team with Daniel to see how we pull this off. Fortunately, we don’t have as many of those situations as we did last year. We are not in a race against time like we were last year. At this time last year we were 12 days away from completing the purchase of the club. We have a lot more time to think about it. Team chemistry is also important, which players suit us and how we want to look and which ones don’t. And that will be considered along with some of the P&S complications.

What about the development and improvements to the West Stand at Elland Road – when will that start now that promotion has not been achieved?

We have already allocated a certain amount of investment to make some improvements at Elland Road. It might not be the shiny new toy, but we’re making improvements.

As big a development as it is, we’re still on track and on schedule to do that. It has been reported that nothing will happen until we reach the Premier League. But there is more to be done, which we are doing anyway. Thing to do before you put a shovel in the ground. Not just work, but a significant investment. Whether we were in the Premier League or the Championship, that money is committed and we continue on that path. If you ask me this question in a year, it might be a bit more complicated because at that moment, we might be ready with a shovel, but now everything is green, as it would have been in any case.

The accounts would suggest that there is around £190m in transfer fees that need to be paid – can you clarify this number for us and detail how and when it needs to be paid?

Outgoing transfer payments were already taken into account when we made our deal with the club last summer. We inherited a credit card bill that we knew we had to take care of. We made sure we had the investment we needed up front to make sure we were covered with that and could handle it properly.

What wasn’t in those numbers that were reported were some of the incoming payments that we have as well, for example our two January sales in Tyler Adams and Luis Sinisterra. There are some inbound transfer payments that come from that. The net is already somewhat lower than reported. We have what it takes to be competitive and we will build the team accordingly. We will have to have some outbound due to P&S, but we will also have some inbound. We have what it takes to compete with the best.

On the P&S side, with the financial year ending in a month, are you under pressure to get sales, exit deals done quickly?

Pressure is probably the wrong word, will we do what we need to do to make sure we comply? Absolute.

Everything we have to do, we’ve been thinking about for almost a year and we recognize some of the compromises we have to make and when we have to make them.

We are ready to make the moves we need to make.

How important is promotion next year?

Every year is critical. This season is critical, but I am more confident because we have more time to execute our plan and make sure our team looks exactly the way it needs to look. It is also critical because Leeds United deserve to be in the Premier League. The Premier League needs Leeds United in it – it just belongs. The league is better with us in it and that’s where we’ll go. It is essential because it is what it should look like.