The transfer window has opened and Leeds United are yet to make any huge deals. What the club have done is put some players up for sale as they hope to clear some space in the squad.
Illan Meslier is one of the first names available; the club is keen on moving on from the French goalkeeper. Leeds also put the trio of Joe Gelhardt, Sam Greenwood and Darko Gyabi up for sale. Max Wober surprisingly announced Leeds’ plans for his exit soon.
And Mateo Joseph is reportedly the subject of a bit from Real Betis.
QUIZ: Can you name the team Leeds United sold these players to?
Leeds United could receive financial boost
Credit: Imago Images
No sale has been confirmed yet, as the Spaniard is away at the U21 Euros. Reports from Spain also indicate that Betis are far away from Leeds’ valuation and a deal is yet to be agreed. Fans may be baffled with the Whites’ push to sell players so early in the transfer window.
Finance expert Adam Williams has some answers to that. He explains how beneficial Mateo Joseph’s sale could be this summer:
“For the purposes of a club’s profit-and-loss account and by extension PSR, a player’s amortised book value is the factor that determines the profit on his sale.” he told Leeds United News.
“So, for Joseph, they signed him for £900,000 in 2022 on a three-and-a-half-year deal. So the amortisation charge was about £260,000 per year, but then they extended his deal in January last year until the summer of 2028. So by my reckoning, his current book value is about £130,000. So while he isn’t a pure profit sale in the sense that he has zero value on the books, he may as well be.”
Williams then adds that Mateo Joseph’s sale could hypothetically bring in a huge fee.
“If the sale price is £8.35m, the PSR profit is going to be £8.45m or thereabouts.”
“Significantly for Leeds, that £8.45m profit hits the books in one go, whereas any signings they make will be amortised over up to five years. In theory, therefore, you could spend £42.25m this summer and, because you have registered the Joseph profit in one go, it would have a net neutral impact on their amortisation and PSR calculation.
Which other player could be sold for PSR profit?
Illan Meslier is one; he was signed for around £5million some years ago, and his market value is at least twice of that. Selling the Frenchman could give an easy profit boost. The trio of Darko Gyabi, Sam Greenwood and Joe Gelhardt could also be important in the scope of affairs. If done right, they can also add some profit – Leeds are eyeing around £10million combined for the sale of this trio.
