United owner Radrizzani planning record transfer deal
LESS than 48 hours after Leeds United won the Championship, Andrea Radrizzani was on the continent negotiating the biggest transfer of his chairmanship.
Even with all the uncertainty around football finances at the moment, they are not standing still.
The Italian, who bought the club from Massimo Cellino three years ago, admits more investment is needed now the club have reached the Premier League after 16 years away, but despite that and the uncertainty over when Elland Road will reopen to fans, he has “a clear budget” and is already working to add “quality not quantity” to Marcelo Bielsa’s
squad. Having been at Derby County on Sunday to watch Leeds win their first game as champions 3-1, by yesterday morning he was speaking to the media from a hotel room in Europe where he was about to conduct transfer negotiations.
When asked if the club could outspend the £17m it will pay Wolverhampton Wanderers to make Helder Costa’s deal permanent, Radrizzani replied: “Yes I think we could break it soon.” Leeds’s record transfer is the £18m paid to West Ham United for Rio Ferdinand in 2000.
They are due to pay RB Leipzig £20m to make Jean-Kevin Augustin’s half-season loan permanent but having declined to extend it until the end of this campaign, may try to argue a way out of their obligation.
Either way, it is clear the squad needs improving but not overhauling for the step up to the world’s richest league.
“I would say we will be more similar to Sheffield United (than Aston Villa in their approach to squad-building after promotion),” he said. “It’s not only about the money, it’s important we keep the structure we have built over two years.
“You don’t win all the points we have and stay in the top-three positions for two years consecutively if you don’t have a good foundation and good players so I think we need to continue with that.
“It (recruitment) will be quality over quantity. We are very careful to identify the players with the right characteristics in the positions we need, that fit the character of the players in our group.
“We put as a priority defending the spirit of this group. You can see the players are united.”
The transfer window opens on July 27, and although a date has not been set for the start of the 2020-21 Premier League season, September 12 is thought most likely.
Radrizzani has been openly seeking extra investment to help the club to be competitive in the Premier League, and the coronavirus has amplified the need.
“We will probably lose £30m to £40m between this season and the beginning of the next,” he revealed.
“The offer we had for shirt sponsorship and what we are about to confirm is 40 per cent lower.
“So we need additional investment to be competitive and maintain (our place in) the league.”
Initially the extra investment is likely to come from Radrizzani’s holding company, ASER, with investment partners the San Fransisco 49ers’ greater contribution likely to be more around their merchandising and management expertise, and the door still open to Qatar Sports Investment, the owners of Paris Saint-Germain.
Radrizzani does not want to step aside, though.
“Living in this league (the Championship) for three years, it was very hard and I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “I would love to stay maybe ten years or more. I’m still young (45), I’m not in any rush, I’m enjoying it.”