Liverpool and Rangers icon makes Leeds United 'feeder club' suggestion amid 49ers Enterprises takeover reports

Former Rangers player and manager Graeme Souness believes Leeds United could become a ‘feeder club’ for the Scottish giants if success returns to Ibrox under 49ers Enterprises.

Current Leeds owners 49ers Enterprises look set to add a second non-US sporting entity to their portfolio this summer with reports earlier this month suggesting a deal had been ‘agreed in principle’ to buy a majority stake in Rangers. Sky Sports News claimed a consortium co-led by Whites chairman Paraag Marathe had been in talks since October and were looking to acquire at least 51 per cent of the Scottish outfit, therefore taking control at boardroom level.

Leeds have declined to comment on the reports but it is understood 49ers Enterprises would be open to the prospect of a multi-club model, with the approach proving successful elsewhere across Europe. Those setups can involve a ‘main’ club, who are usually in the Premier League such as Chelsea, and others across the continent who develop young talent before they are ready to step into a top-level team - one of Chelsea’s being French outfit RC Strasbourg, who have regularly taken players on loan from Stamford Bridge.

Souness ‘feeder club’ comments

But neither Leeds nor Rangers would be comfortable with the status of ‘feeder club’, with both harbouring ambitions of regular top-flight football, European competition and maybe even silverware in the long-term. But Souness, who retired from playing at Ibrox before taking on his first managerial role with the Glasgow outfit, has suggested his former side could benefit from the model.

Subscribe to Inside Elland Road, with Graham Smyth for unique, behind-the-scenes Leeds United coverage, expert analysis and exclusive interviews

“Any prospective buyer of Glasgow Rangers will quickly understand that they are not just buying a football club – they are buying an institution,” Souness told the Daily Mail. “If it were to be the 49ers, there’s early talk that Rangers could be a feeder club for Leeds. But if they were to take Rangers up a few more rungs, I believe it could be the other way around. There’s such huge potential to take this club to another level.”

Leeds’ multi-club stance

There is absolutely no suggestion from 49ers Enterprises, or anyone else high up at Elland Road, that Leeds will be anything like a feeder club for anyone else, with Marathe recently insisting there is space in his heart for two equally important clubs, ‘just like there is to love all of your children’. That point was also made abundantly clear following last year’s announcement that Red Bull would be joining the club as minority shareholders and front-of-shirt sponsors.

The Austrian energy drinks giant owns the likes of RB Salzburg and RB Leipzig, with a mix of excitement and concern as to how those links might be used to the benefit or detriment of Leeds. But Marathe allayed any concerns, insisting focus is on how the growing network can benefit those in West Yorkshire.

“I don’t know specifics about interactions between Leipzig and Salzburg, as you just talked about,” he said at the time. “All I know about is Leeds and what’s best for Leeds United. Like I said, if there’s an opportunity somewhere, or we identify a talent that might benefit us, we’ll go do that.”