How Leeds United transfer offer can provide Chelsea alternative to unpopular Saudi Arabia plot

One such club Leeds could loan promising young talent from in their bid to earn promotion is Chelsea. Following Todd Boehly and Beghdad Eghbali’s takeover at Stamford Bridge 13 months ago, the Blues have reportedly spent over £500 million on transfers with little return on their investment.

Last season’s 12th place finish in the Premier League leaves Chelsea with a significant financial hole in their accounts, namely due to the lack of broadcast income from participation in the Champions League, whilst also losing out on increased Premier League merit payments due to their lowly finishing position.

After the executive was pictured in Saudi Arabia earlier this month, several of Boehly’s Chelsea players have been linked with moves to the Gulf state, including Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly and Hakim Ziyech – all of whom are said to be high earners in West London and are expected to move for substantial fees.

Whether the decision to offload players to Saudi Arabian clubs – four of which were recently taken into state ownership by the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) – is a specific ploy to raise funds and balance the books at Chelsea, or mere coincidence is difficult to prove either way. PIF’s involvement in their October 2021 acquisition of Newcastle United was, and continues to be, met with derision from many within the British football establishment due to PIF’s overt links to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the state’s human rights record.

Nevertheless, what any prospective moves for high-earning Chelsea players will achieve, is alleviating strain on the Blues’ wage bill. That’s where Leeds come in.

The Whites are in need of a centre-forward this summer with Rodrigo Moreno expected to depart and Georginio Rutter’s future uncertain. Patrick Bamford is anticipated to remain at Elland Road but due to his injury history over the past two seasons, cannot be relied upon as a guaranteed starter during what will be a gruelling 46-game season.

Chelsea’s first-team squad has what could be described as ten ‘attackers’, including four bona fide centre-forwards. While the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Raheem Sterling, Christian Pulisic and Mykhailo Mudryk are all definitively unattainable, there are perhaps two strikers Leeds could target on loan this summer.

Former Southampton loanee Armando Broja may ordinarily be out of Leeds’ reach given he has experience in the Premier League, but after six months on the sidelines with a cruciate ligament rupture, top flight clubs in England could be reluctant to take a gamble on the Albanian international.

A team, theoretically, competing at the top end of the Championship could give Broja’s career the jump-start it requires and considering Leeds will be in receipt of parachute payments to the tune of £45 million this coming season, affording the 21-year-old’s wages would not represent a major issue.

More feasible than Broja, though, could be a pursuit of young forward David Datro Fofana who joined the Blues from Norwegian club Molde in January.

Fofana made three Premier League appearances and has so far failed to make an impact, while his path to regular first-team football is blocked by the bloated nature of Chelsea’s squad.

At 20 years of age, the Ivorian international had scored 24 times in 65 appearances for Molde, picking up ten assists over a two-year spell in Norway before his Blues switch. The leap to Stamford Bridge appears to have been too great at this stage in his career and a bridging loan to a club one tier below or in one of Europe’s mid-level leagues could be beneficial for all parties.

Leeds appointed football advisor Nick Hammond last week to oversee the club’s transfer business before a more permanent director of football appointment can be made. The former Reading sporting director will liaise closely with current head of emerging talent Craig Dean, as well as the legacy recruitment framework which has remained in place following Victor Orta’s departure last month, which includes Andrea Iore.

Whether Fofana is deemed attainable remains to be seen but the Whites cannot afford to delay their transfer business if they wish to avoid a scenario in which several wantaway players arrive for pre-season training on July 2.

The task of rebuilding Leeds' squad suitable for a tilt at automatic promotion will be a sizeable one, but Leeds can aid themselves in this endeavour by being wise to wider market conditions, such as Chelsea’s need to trim the edges of their first-team group.