Leeds United news: Whites ‘battling’ for Championship striker amid takeover update

Leeds United are now on the search for a new manager as they prepare for life back in the Championship.

Sam Allardyce’s short-term deal will be allowed to lapse, and the Whites will now search for a new boss to lead their project, which is likely to be a lengthy one as they search for a route back to the Premier League. Not only do United need a new manager, but they must also plot their way through a summer that is likely to see them lose a significant chunk of their squad.

As Leeds’ chiefs get their heads around all that, we have rounded up all the latest news surrounding Elland Road.

Gyokeres race

Leeds are said to be interested in a move for Coventry City striker Viktor Gyokeres this summer.

Gyokeres has attracted plenty of attention after a superb season that saw him score 21 times, helping his side to the Championship play-off final, where they eventually lost out to Luton Town on penalties. Reports have claimed Gyokeres could be available for around £11million, and Record, via Sport Witness, claim Leeds could be interested.

Though, Portuguese giants Sporting CP are also said to be interested, potentially complicating things for the Whites.

Leeds takeover update

Any hope for a quiet week of sombre reflection on the season gone and the Championship campaign to come was killed off when a report by The Athletic revealed Andrea Radrizzani’s proposal to put Elland Road stadium up as collateral in order to obtain a loan with which he could buy Sampdoria. With no charge showing on Companies House it appears as if the proposal remained just that. Radrizzani came under fire during Sunday’s relegation-confirming defeat to Spurs, a game he did not attend, and the mood among fans suggests any way forward for his ownership regime would be difficult. John Mann, chair of Leeds United Supporters Club told the YEP: “Risking Elland Road is the end of Radrizzani at Leeds - beyond what is acceptable.”

49ers Enterprises are believed to remain keen on a full takeover of Leeds United, having previous agreed a deal with Radrizzani in the event of the club retaining Premier League status. A new deal has therefore to be negotiated for his shares and though there are suggestions that talks are ongoing, neither party has addressed the possibility of a transition of power this week. A statement from Radrizzani, released prior to The Athletic’s report, did not suggest he was planning to sell or depart the club.

The YEP has attempted to obtain responses to this week’s events from Radrizzani, along with 49ers vice president and major Elland Road player Collin Meador, but as of yet none have been forthcoming. Leeds United as a club have been unable to comment.

The EFL have made it clear to the YEP that they cannot comment on individual cases and in any case Leeds remain under Premier League jurisdiction until the transfer of shares occurs between the two governing bodies next week. The Premier League, in turn, had no comment to make and referred the YEP back to the EFL.

Elland Road action

The listing of a building or land as an asset of community value [AoCV] ensures that it cannot be sold without community groups being informed and given a right to bid to purchase it themselves. An AoCV can be used as a reason to refuse planning permission for change of use or demolition and in extreme circumstances, if the asset is under threat of long-term loss to the community then an AoCV-registered building can be compulsory purchased by a local authority or council.

The council confirmed to the YEP on Thursday that the previous approval of AoCV status had expired on October 5 2022 and Elland Road had been automatically delisted, but the situation did not prevent a new application from being made for Elland Road.

A day later the council has revealed that the Trust has now lodged a fresh application. A spokesperson for Leeds City Council said: “The council can confirm that the Leeds United Supporters’ Trust submitted an application yesterday evening for Elland Road to be considered as an asset of community value. The application will now be assessed against the established criteria.”

The YEP understands that the Trust had been working on the renewal for a number of months before lodging the application on Thursday.

In a series of Tweets the Trust said: “On the AoCV status, it’s not automatically flagged that it expires from when we successfully submitted the application previously. So when we realised it had a few months back we immediately began the renewal process and started to gather the right documentation to the club. It’s a time consuming process, but we’re pleased to say the application has now been submitted and we await a council decision. We will look at what we can put in place for the future to alert new board members of its expiry so they don’t end up not in the same situation.”