Eight-figure bids were turned down
Sales beyond £105m may have been overseen by 49ers Enterprises for Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter, but it rejected tens of millions more for other star players this summer. Leeds United received eight-figure bids for Wilfried Gnonto and several other players this summer, but they were knocked back, according to chief executive Angus Kinnear .
“The reality is the challenge of relegation is you have this hangover of an enormous wage bill and, in our case, which was particularly acute, we had this huge balance owed to transfer creditors,” he said. “That was because, in the last years of the previous ownership, we bought players with extended payment terms and, ultimately, the 49ers are having to pick up the tab for some of those purchases.
“Illan Meslier is not a Championship player. Pascal Struijk is not a Championship player. Ethan Ampadu is not a Championship player. All those players were retained because of the way the 49ers have structured their investment with multiple stakeholders, to create an environment where we can sustain the highest wage bill, I think, the Championship’s ever seen, where we're not forced to sell players other Championship clubs would have had to sell.
Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace were cited as examples Leeds would be wise to follow if and when they were promoted again. The Seagulls are currently competing in the Premier League for the eighth consecutive season, having begun that streak with 15th, 17th, 15th and 16th-place finishes with nine wins apiece.
“A club like Leeds United, because of the fan base, because of the commercial potential it has, shouldn't be getting relegated when it got promoted. We worked really, really hard to get promoted and we should have just sustained that position. “There is probably a period where you want to focus more on consolidation than kind of shooting for the stars and you build that platform. If you speak to Steve Parish at Crystal Palace, they've done that very well, where they have consolidated a position where Crystal Palace don't wake up at the start of every season terrified about relegation.
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