Now, Leeds United has reached out to recruit a Premier League attacker with great potential who a former England manager described as having “magical feet.”
Jayden Bogle has just joined Daniel Farke’s side in an attempt to build a team that can win a promotion automatically.
Despite being linked to several other teams, Crysencio Summerville and Wilfred Gnonto are still playing for Leeds.
That being said, it has suddenly come to light that the West Yorkshire club has reached out in an attempt to sign an attacker who could stand in for one of the aforementioned pair.
Leeds United has reportedly made contact to sign Crystal Palace winger Jesurun Rak-Sayki this summer, according to TEAMtalk.
Rak-Sayki seems to be the front-runner to replace Summerville or Gnonto, who are both slated to depart this summer.
The recently promoted Southampton, whose £7 million proposal was turned down by The Eagles, is also interested in the 21-year-old.
Palace are eager to loan him out to the Championship rather than a Premier League rival, giving Leeds a great chance of landing his signature.
During his outstanding loan stint with Charlton in the 2022–2023 season, Rak–Sakyi scored 15 goals and provided 10 assists.
The 2002 native has an equally remarkable record with Palace’s under-21 team, amassing 24 goals and dishing out eight assists in 40 games.
Roy Hodgson, the former head of Palace, claimed to have “magical feet.”
According to Hodgson, via The Athletic, “he’s got this ability, a bit like Michael Olise has—they’ve got magical feet, and they’re very clever at manipulating the ball.”
In other news, Red Bull, a co-owner of Leeds, has the potential to alter Elland Road, according to US press.During his outstanding loan stint with Charlton in the 2022–2023 season, Rak–Sakyi scored 15 goals and provided 10 assists.
The 2002 native has an equally remarkable record with Palace’s under-21 team, amassing 24 goals and dishing out eight assists in 40 games.
Roy Hodgson, the former head of Palace, claimed to have “magical feet.”
According to Hodgson, via The Athletic, “he’s got this ability, a bit like Michael Olise has—they’ve got magical feet, and they’re very clever at manipulating the ball.”
In other news, Red Bull, a co-owner of Leeds, has the potential to alter Elland Road, according to US press.
After landing Joe Rothwell and Joe Rodon, Leeds are seemingly about to sign Jayden Bogle from Sheffield United.
Indeed, according to John Percy from The Telegraph, Leeds have now agreed a deal to sign the Sheffield United defender for £5m this summer.
According to Percy, a deal for Bogle has now been agreed and a medical has been pencilled in for Saturday morning.
This summer, Leeds needed a new right-back, and it appeared they had found one.
At the end of the previous season, Leeds had two alternatives at right back in Connor Roberts and Archie Gray. However, both players have since left the team.
Roberts returned to Burnley following a brief loan at Elland Road, while Gray departed for Spurs.
Bogle is expected to be a highly anticipated addition as he will be replacing Roberts and Gray.
This could well end up being one of the best signings Leeds make this summer.
Yes, Sheffield United were poor in the Premier League last season, but Bogle was one of their better performers.
This has always been a player with bags of potential. In fact, AC Milan were once interested in signing the right-back, and now, he’s set to join Leeds.
Leeds are, of course, aiming to return to the Premier League at the second time of asking after losing the playoff final last year, and signing a player like Bogle will surely help the Whites achieve their goals.
Bogle isn’t just a player who will bring something to Leeds’ promotion push, he’s also capable of doing a job in the Premier League if Leeds should get there.
At just £5m, this could be a brilliant bit of business for Leeds as they look to once again push for promotion.
Leeds United will smash club records and pocket almost £9 million as a result of some good news that will please the West Yorkshire club’s owners.
Red Bull, the massive Austrian energy drink company, probably thought they were investing in a Premier League team rather than a Championship one during the negotiations that preceded their purchase of a minority ownership in Leeds.
But even with the club’s subsequent failure to win promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt, Leeds are still in a relatively strong financial position.
They do owe a substantial amount in transfer instalments but talk about their potential non-compliance with the EFL’s Financial Fair Play rules was overblow.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that Sky Sports had struck a new broadcast deal with the EFL for £895m.
The new deal, which will see Sky air another 1,000 matches from 2024-25, was met with a mixed reception.
On the one hand, the extra cash will be welcomed in a league system where almost every club loses money.
On the other, the provisions of the agreement means that Leeds fans and others will have to become accustomed to non-traditional kick-off times and more media duties.
In another new update, the EFL have revealed that they have also signed a new broadcast deal with CBS Sports to air the competition, as well as the Carabao Cup, in the United States.
No value for the deal has yet been given, but the trend in EFL rights means it is likely to represent an upswing on the previous deal.
Leeds earned just over £9m in broadcast cash in their last season in the Championship, and the new tranche of TV deals means they will smash that record again in 2024-25.
And with Leeds almost certain to be the most broadcast team in the division next season, they will also likely break the record for the highest amount of TV cash earned by a second-tier club in single season.
Leeds’ commercial income was £48m in 2022-23, the last full season for which financial data is available.
That figure will have fallen in 2023-24 after their relegation, but it will still remain significantly strong than every other Championship side.
Their merchandise sales are among the strongest in Europe and will remain so whatever league they are thanks to their huge fanbase.
Their purchase of Elland Road back from previous owner Andrea Radrizzani signifies that they are still keen to expand the stadium, which will be another significant revenue driver.
The financial realities of modern football mean it is hard to imagine Leeds staying in the second tier for too long – and certainly not as long as their last stint outside the Premier League.
It is telling that Leeds continue to oppose an independent regulator for English football despite that body being likely to enforce an increased flow of cash from the Premier League to the EFL.
Clearly, Leeds see themselves back in the Premier League very soon.
It seems sense that Leeds United supporters were both happy and nervous when word leaked out earlier this summer about Red Bull’s interest in the team.
One of the most prosperous multi-club networks in international football is managed by the massive Austrian energy drink companies, yet the teams’ individual identities are subordinated to their brands.
It seems sense that Leeds United supporters were both happy and nervous when word leaked out earlier this summer about Red Bull’s interest in the team.
One of the most prosperous multi-club networks in international football is managed by the massive Austrian energy drink companies, yet the teams’ individual identities are subordinated to their brands.
Red Bull have sponsored the front of Leeds’ shirts, however, in a record deal for a Championship club.
Ideally, the group would have liked for their minority investment to have come at a time when Leeds were celebrating promotion to the Premier League.
But their failure at the final hurdle in 2023-24 meant Daniel Farke’s side did not get back to the top flight on their first attempt since their three-year stint ended with relegation the previous campaign.
Things have changed a lot at Elland Road in that period.
However, one thing that has not altered is Leeds’ stance towards the incoming independent regulator for English football, the body that could transform the pyramid in years to come.
To explore the West Yorkshire club’s view on independent regulation and what it means for Red Bull and the San Francisco 49ers’ long-term plans, TBR spoke exclusively to football finance expert Kieran Maguire.
First proposed in Tracey Crouch MP’s Fan-Led Review of English Football, the independent regulator bill was making its way through Parliament until the general election earlier this month.
Now, the new Labour government have reintroduced the regulator. And the general view is that they will take a more hard-line view that the previous Conservative cabinet.
Why does this matter for Leeds? Because one of the powers of the independent regulator will be to enforce the fair flow of finances between the Premier League and the rest of the pyramid.
Leeds are in a curious position here.
On the one hand, they are currently in the EFL, so might favour greater solidarity payments.
On the other, they expect to return to the Premier League in the medium-term and may act in their own self-interest accordingly.
Leeds managing director Angus Kinnear explicitly opposes independent regulation, controversially likening it Chairman Mao’s agricultural collectivism.
However, Kinnear penned that open letter when Leeds were still in the top flight. Might their stance have softened since relegation? Maguire does not think so.
“I don’t expect Leeds to have changed their viewpoint,” said the Liverpool University football finance lecturer and Price of Football author.
“The 49ers investment arm is looking to establish Leeds as a Premier League regular with all the financial benefits that brings with the TV deal.
“The distribution issue is much broader. The Premier League is a breakaway league and has negotiated as such, but at the same time, it has links with the EFL.
“I can’t see Leeds changing. When I have communicated with the club, there is no doubt that their ambitions are to be similar to Villa, West Ham, that type of club. Ideally, in a 50,000-capacity stadium.
“One of the benefits that brings is substantial financial benefits over the EFL.”
Multiple Premier League chairs and owners have said that a Labour government would not bode well for a light-touch approach to regulation.
The fear for the likes of Leeds is that the regulator could get over-involved in the details and day-to-day governance of clubs, potentially scaring off foreign investment in the Premier League.
Some have even speculated that it could intervene in capital expenditure projects, such as Leeds’ plan to expand Elland Road to beyond 50,000.
But Maguire, who has been regularly consulted by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, does not that Sir Kier Starmer’s government will take any such draconian measures.
“My understanding is that Labour was involved very much at the planning stage in terms of the bill that was introduced by the Conservative government. It very much had cross-party Parliamentary support.
“I don’t think there will be a big push to get involved in operational issues. When I spoke to the Parliamentary committee in April when the bill had just had a second reading, one of the issues I was asked by an MP was if I thought the regulator’s role should extend to issues such as ticket prices.
“I said ‘no, these are private, loss-making companies. We must always bear in mind that, while there has been very close contact between the people devising the bill and UEFA, we have to keep them onside, because government interference could be a big issue in football.
“If the government decides to extend the remit to issues such as ticket prices, it could be that Infantino and co say that is a step too far.
“So, I am not anticipating significant differences. The main one, one we are seeing a huge amount of lobbying is backstop powers around financial flow from the Premier League downwards.”
Leeds’ continued opposition to the regulator would indicate that they see themselves in the Premier League for a sustained period in the near future.
If not, they would likely be backing the regulator to secure even more than the £119m per season in extra solidarity payments that the Premier League is currently offering the EFL.
“Red Bull and 49ers have big plans for Leeds,” he said.
“That means they see themselves in the Premier League and want to take advantages of the full riches on offer. My concern with fair financial flow is that defining ‘fair flow’ is extremely difficult.
“There is no point in having a stronger Championship if you have a less competitive Premier League.
“The gaps between the extremely rich and the moderately rich in the Premier League are substantial.
“If we move to something like Project Big Picture off the back of this, that will reduce the competitiveness of the Premier League.”
The regulator is not expected to dictate how much the likes of Leeds may have to pay in solidarity payments to the EFL in future but rather it will enforce and oversee the distribution.
With the EFL wanting more than £119m, this raises the question of how the logistics of the process will unfold, with the regulator’s backstop powers playing a central role.
“As far as the backstop powers, it would work along the lines of game theory,” explained Maguire.
“This is really good. It shows DCMS has some smart people that have tried to bring both parties together.
“But it will be a sealed bid from the Premier League and a sealed bid from the EFL.
“The regulator will then choose one or the other. It won’t be a compromise. Under those circumstances, you would tend to think both the Premier League and the EFL would tend towards the middle because otherwise you could lose out.
“I know the Premier League is concerned the EFL won’t cooperate because they feel they can get a better deal from the backstop than they can from negotiation.
“That is the reservation the Premier League has and I think it’s an understandable one.”
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