Premier League club chief name-checks Leeds United in £300m argument against major EFL deal

West Ham United vice-chairman Karren Brady has reiterated her stance that Premier League clubs should be under no obligation to filter cash through the EFL, citing Leeds United’s summer business in her argument.

Premier League clubs have been locked in talks regarding a new financial deal involving the EFL for several months, with an expected £900million cash injection over a six-year period being discussed. But there has been significant opposition and a shareholder’s meeting in March that was hoped to provide a breakthrough instead saw a new competition-wide financial system announced.

There was widespread frustration among EFL clubs at the lack of new funding and government chiefs have warned failure to reach an agreement will mean one is imposed via a new independent football regulator. But Brady argues that while the likes of Leeds and Burnley have provided for top-flight teams, the Championship is not a consistent enough producer of talent to demand more money.

“Overall, the Championship clubs did £300m in player sales business,” Brady wrote in her column for The Sun. “Leeds and Burnley led the way, Leeds selling midfielder Georginio Rutter to Brighton for £40m while Fulham enticed the Clarets with £20m for Sander Berge.

“Occasionally a Prem club breaches the £30m mark for a man from the lower league and more often than not he comes from a recently-relegated side. Record signings of £40m for Rutter and, a year previously, for James Maddison made bold headlines but Premier League clubs tend towards foreigners who are often more cost effective.”

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EFL clubs would point to a number of current Premier League players that, while might not have demanded a headline fee, have gone on to be incredibly successful for their new clubs - and therefore profitable. Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise, Jarrod Bowen, Jack Grealish, Ollie Watkins and many more began their careers outside the top-flight while young academy prospects like Amad Diallo or Mason Mount cut their teeth playing Championship football.

Top-level Premier League clubs have also made a habit of plucking young academy stars from EFL clubs before they sign professional terms, an issue Leeds experienced first-hand last year. Manchester City plucked 15-year-old midfielder Finlay Gorman from the Thorp Arch conveyor belt, stumping up a record-breaking seven-figure fee and offering the kind of wages no Championship club could match.

“Although the EFL clubs may be seen by its leaders as a proving ground for higher things, it isn’t all that much,” Brady added. “Although it is fair to say that bigger clubs often step in early on by offering tempting first contracts to highly-promising youngsters.

“This means the net for talent is spread very widely. It still bothers me that the current structure has been used by the EFL as a lever for the introduction of an independent regulator and, their leaders assume, a torrent of fresh Prem pounds.”