New Premier League rule could be game changer for Leeds United as spending roadmap outlined

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes Leeds United might just have an advantage over other clubs should they win promotion back to the Premier League. The Whites are in pole position in the Championship promotion race following last weekend's win over Milllwall and with eight games to go, few would be betting against the Whites getting over the line.

If they were to bounce back at the first time of asking, Leeds would be stepping into a Premier League with new financial regulations in place following the decision to replace the Profitability and Sustainability Rules, which have come into focus over the last couple of years. The new rules are much more aligned with UEFA's financial sustainability rules, which uses a squad cost ratio to determine permitted spending on a club-by-club basis.

As such, a team's wage bill, transfer costs and other transfer-related expenses will be held up against overall revenue to dictate just how much can be spent. It could pay for clubs to have strong revenue from next season then and, given the Whites made €207.8m last season, according to Deloitte, that is what they have.

Of course, revenue will have fallen while competing in the Championship this time around, but they should have room to spend in the summer, should they go up, and Maguire believes the club's standing would give them an edge over their competition in the top flight.

"The implementation of the squad control cap is going to be very challenging for both clubs and the Premier League itself,” he told Football Insider. “It does effectively reinforce the existing gaps that operate within football.

“But for a club like Leeds, which has excellent commercial revenue and good matchday revenue, it could actually be an opportunity. They can cement the club as part of the middle class of the Premier League and then move towards becoming challengers if the club expands the stadium and moves on from there.“