Big Elland Road change necessary if Leeds United's long term Premier League ambition is to be realised

Owner Andrea Radrizzani and director of football Victor Orta have both spoken of their desire to see the Whites challenging just below the top six, in time.

Neither have any fanciful ideas of finishing among the big boys just yet - Radrizzani has targetted a three-year minimum stay in the top flight to help them build the necessary foundations to return the club to the upper half of the table, where many feel it rightfully belongs.

Next season is simply about survival, although Marcelo Bielsa and his players might not see it that way.

Shortly after watching his club end their 16-year exile from the top flight, Radrizzani admitted it would take extra finance just to get the club ‘Premier League ready’ and that money was likely to come from his own firm, Aser.

But if they want to progress further, from a lower-table, top-flight side to something more closely resembling the glory days, it will require big changes at Elland Road.

Football finance lecturer Kieran Maguire says the stadium itself is one key to unlocking the door to the region of the promised land Leeds would really like to inhabit.

“How much investment is needed will depend upon what Leeds United want to be,” he told The Yorkshire Evening Post.

“If they want to compete with the top six then they will need investment and an expanded or new stadium because you are competing against Arsenal 60,000, Spurs 60,000, Manchester United 76,000, Manchester City 54,000 going on 60,000, Liverpool 54,000 going on 60,000.

“The only club which hasn’t really invested in its ground is Chelsea and they’re owned by a billionaire.

“If Leeds want to compete for European places then I think some form of investment will be required.

“If you take a look at the matchday income, at £18m that is superb by Championship standards but Manchester United and Arsenal are on £100m from matchdays.

“Those clubs are able to relieve people of cash as soon as they walk through the local station.

“If Leeds want to be contenders they will have to have facilities which can compete with that.”

For now, however, Maguire doesn’t believe Leeds need much more in terms of an influx of cash.

Since his arrival, Radrizzani and his team have managed to create record-breaking turnover and maximised the club’s revenue streams, leveraging the club’s status and history for commercial gain.

As a newly-promoted Premier League side, they signed a kit deal with Adidas and agreed a club-record sponsorship deal with betting firm SBOTOP.

They are well placed to exist in England’s elite tier of football as it stands.

Maguire cites an example of a club Leeds could look to emulate in financial terms, with the potential to overtake them if a stadium expansion were to come to fruition - something the club say will only happen if they have enjoyed a couple of years at least in the division.

“If their ambitions are to be in the pack of the other 14, to have some cup runs then probably relatively minimal investing is required, provided they’re not in a relegation fight then they could quite happily become a mid-tier club,” said Maguire. I work in Liverpool, half the people I work with are Evertonians who might find that quite frustrating. Everton is a good benchmark for what Leeds could potentially become if not surpass because they’re a one-city club.

“Everton themselves are looking to move to a 52,000 capacity stadium. Then they’ve got the benefits of that.”

For all the talk of a potential Qatari takeover last year, Radrizzani and the San Francisco 49ers remain the only players at the table.

There is no real expectation that they will be joined by new partners in the immediate future but, with enough cash to afford the additions Orta and Bielsa feel are necessary - including record signing Rodrigo who is on the verge of completing a deal and centre-half Robin Koch who is close to a move - the money men who helped bankroll Leeds to the Premier League will now look to the football men to keep them there.