Leeds Banter 2

25 Jul 2026 17:20:58
If Perri signs for Torino, surely the Trafford deal must be all but done.

25 Jul 2026 19:09:13
Don't know if it's sour grapes because they're not now going for him, but a NUFC blog claims that -

"Leeds United agree deal to sign James Trafford from Manchester City. €40M fee agreed between the clubs and personal terms agreed."
..and...
"Understand his contract will include a buy back clause for Manchester City at €60M."

Don't know why they quote prices in Euros, but €40m is about £34M and €60m is about £51M.



I hope this is not true, tho if it is, it would be like getting him on loan and being paid £17M for doing so.

25 Jul 2026 21:09:04
If it were to be exercised, sure. But 17m isn't a bad deal in that worst-case scenario.

We did a similar deal with Rutter, where the release clause was only slightly more than we bought him for.

These things are not uncommon in football.

At the end of the day, Citeh don't need to sell, and have the player under contract, so if we want him, we need to accept certain terms, unfortunately.

25 Jul 2026 21:32:55
There's also the angle that Trafford may not want to go back to City, even if they triggered a buy-back clause, after the way they've treated him. He could just smile and wave when he has to, but a buy-back allows them to negotiate. It doesn't force a player to sign.

25 Jul 2026 21:54:55
Good point, Ealing, once bitten, twice shy.

25 Jul 2026 12:38:57
Summerville is off to play in Saudi. Big wages, but a nothing league in the wilderness.

25 Jul 2026 13:21:40
He will get a big pay day and still get picked for the national team. Might win a trophy or two too.

25 Jul 2026 13:41:49
You're a nobody in the Saudi League in football terms.

25 Jul 2026 14:22:02
Saudi League is, of course, a lower prestige league compared to many Euro leagues, but they have a plethora of good players, some of whom are playing for their national teams in it.

So no, OP, definitely not "nobodies".



Even Ronaldo. Four years playing in the Saudi League and still playing for his national team, Portugal, with billions and billions watching at the 7th best WC (2026) a few weeks ago.

So is Ronaldo a nobody, OP? Hmmm. 🤔

25 Jul 2026 14:54:08
Ronaldo is finished. Baz, Portugal made hife error starting him, his legs have gone.
Don't get me wrong, you'd be a fool not to take the money though.

25 Jul 2026 15:00:25
Absolutely, Ronaldo is not a nobody, Baz, but most definitely a has-been at 41, and his inclusion in the Portugal team, to stroke Martinez's ego, cost him his job and Portugal any chance of winning the thing. Saudi football is akin to LIV, a detached wilderness that has no recognition or following, just a means to a massive pension.

25 Jul 2026 15:17:28
Let's not make this about players and age.
Look at the signings over the last few years.
They get paid and picked for the national team.
Like it or not. That's not changing.
And the money they pay will eventually attract better players than Germany, Italy and France.

25 Jul 2026 15:37:22
A rich nobody. I'd take it.

25 Jul 2026 15:44:59
Absolutely, Corkey.
I'd take that all day.

25 Jul 2026 16:02:31
Davey and Llf, yes, Ronaldo's legs have gone.

But "has been", from my perspective, means "a person who is no longer famous or successful".

Ronaldo is still famous, very famous, and will forever be famous, and he is still relatively successful, and his record goalscoring of 976 goals will, imo, never be broken.

25 Jul 2026 15:32:31
Some ' has been ' Davey.
.976 career goals.I am not a fan of him personally but football wise Ronaldo is one of the best ever

And technically he is still far better than 1000s of players

25 Jul 2026 16:48:02
Nelson is famous, Baz, as is Marilyn Monroe, but they are dead and so is Ronaldo's career.

25 Jul 2026 17:43:08
I would think he doesn't care a dog's 💩 what people will call him. It's all about the money, more than most can dream about. Happy to be a has-been or nobody. He's not thinking about you.

25 Jul 2026 17:47:01
Ronaldo's career coming to an end, yes..

but you might not like it, Davey..

but facts remain that Ronaldo was still playing in the biggest, greatest tournament just 2 weeks ago.

And I, for one, would baulk at referring to any of the 3 iconic record goalscoring players, Pele, Messi or Ronaldo, as "has beens", Davey..

AiMo.

25 Jul 2026 18:34:03
The US and Saudi are the only places Ronaldo can play now; he is simply not fit enough to play top flight anymore.
Players only go to the Saudi League for money, not to further their footballing abilities.
Face it, Baz. Ronaldo is done.

25 Jul 2026 19:19:15
Couldnt give a monkeys, Baz. Why we talkin about a player who had zero to do with LUFC. Everyone who was great is a has been, back to Alfred The Great et al. Thats not to dis anything they have achieved, that is a different argument, I would rather be invested in the present and future and the Mighty Whites, where we are and what we are gonna achieve.

25 Jul 2026 10:30:41
49ers get a lot of unwarranted stick in my opinion. The increase in the profile of the club and the work they're doing to improve the outward facing professionalism of the club is making us a very attractive investment opportunity which will also see improvements and benefit in the playing squad.

The transfer strategy, whilst slated sometimes (Perri) , has been sound and the recruitment has for the most part been excellent. You will always get certain things wrong. From research into Perri, there was nothing to indicate he was perhaps as poor as he was last year as standard. This summer's strategy has been the most ambitious in my lifetime (33 y.o) and it fills me with great confidence for not just the season ahead but for the long time future and success of the club.

Bring on Forest 22nd August! MOT

25 Jul 2026 12:39:49
Another good post, JJ! But now put the armour plating on, and duck for cover!

25 Jul 2026 13:24:52
33, you spring chicken, you.
You mentioned Perri. What about Bourn, Schmidt, Large. Namecheck.

25 Jul 2026 14:23:16
Aus, did you forget to mention Farke too. 😉

25 Jul 2026 14:29:37
Bazookas at the ready. Don your tin hat. .
Nah, joshing aside.

The fact that the 49ers are finally extending Elland Road is a big tick. Good stuff.

49ers in 23/24 Jan Window and Farke did mess up the run in the that seez, allowing little ole L1 Ipswich to finish above em.



But, 49ers did well enough in 24/25. Good signings, and not least insisting to Farkey that he drop Meslier.

Pretty good in 25/26 too. Perri excepted.

25 Jul 2026 15:18:49
Knew you had my back, Baz. Brothers in arms. 😘

25 Jul 2026 15:35:04
Indeed, my Aussie bro.

25 Jul 2026 16:32:25
Surprised to see you mention Namecheck there Aus, I thought he more than covered his salary for us, given he was a free agent, but I accept he's far from able to manage lots of playing time at this time, but hoping a good preseason and he will give us a very respectable option from the bench.



Just my personal opinion though, Aus, each to their own, but I like him.

25 Jul 2026 21:11:51
We are lucky to have the 49ers. Best owners in my nearly 50 year lifetime, after so many terrible ones. Enjoy it while it lasts.

25 Jul 2026 21:18:43
Couldn't agree more, Alf.
Onwards and upwards & Upwards.

25 Jul 2026 22:55:57
We've had about 10 decent / good seasons in the last 50 years, and I would argue, the 49ers have been involved to some extent in 7 of them.

As others have said, we are pretty lucky and they are probably the best owners we have had in that time.

26 Jul 2026 00:09:30
No, Ani.

Leeds United have had 24 (twenty-four, not just 3) decent / good seasons in the last 50 years that the 49ers were not involved in.

They are the following seasons:
1975/76
1976/77
1978/79
1979/80
1980/81
1986/87
1989/90
1990/91
1991/92
1993/94
1994/95
1995/96
1996/97
1997/98
1998/99
1999/2000
2000/01
2001/02
2009/2010
2010/2011
2016/2017
2018/2019
2019/2020

Also 2020/21.

26 Jul 2026 00:17:42
* I forgot to write, also season 1977/78.

So, 25 decent / good seasons that Leeds United have had, that the 49ers have had zero involvement in!

26 Jul 2026 05:58:32
But that doesn't reflect on the ownership directly in those seasons, Baz. Managers are more likely responsible.

26 Jul 2026 06:45:18
Bright, Leslie Silver was a terrific owner. Many Cussins too.

And, the fact is, Ani made a wholly wild, erroneous claim.

26 Jul 2026 07:46:20
Like footballers, the style of football, and even the rules of the game, everything is different today; that includes football club ownership. You can't compare, and it means nothing to do so.

26 Jul 2026 20:54:18
If you think being in League 1 is a measure of a good season then fill your boots, Baz.

27 Jul 2026 00:26:46
Well, it was a very enjoyable and successful L1 party promotion season, Ani.

But, OK, if you insist, I will remove from my list that 2009/2010 seez ..

However, that still leaves 24 decent to good seasons that have absolutely nowt to do with 49ers, Ani, not your suggested mere three seasons. 😆

25 Jul 2026 08:08:22
This could turn out to be one of our best windows for a long time. We are improving our starting 11 first and then a few fillers. Hate to say it. But if things turn out the way I think they will. I’m impressed.
I do believe we will need to shift a few pronto or before next July.

25 Jul 2026 10:49:00
Agree, Aus2, that we are improving the squad with the three signings (assuming Trafford arrives) , and hopefully at least another 3 (second keeper, AM and striker certainly needed) . It might be that one of the junior players will be promoted to the main squad as well.
Last year's loanees are slowly getting off the wage bill.
However, if we're not careful, we'll have a fairly bloated squad, so we need to shift a winger, a midfielder, and maybe a CB: Willie/DJ, Bournauw, and Gruev if he doesn't sign a new contract, or AO if we want a good return.

It's been commented by several posters that AO is better when he starts a game, but that doesn't seem to be on Farke's agenda.

24 Jul 2026 11:59:23
This but back clause has to be at least double what we are paying for Trafford.
We pay 35 million. The buy back has to be 70 minimum.
We can’t have a situation where we pay say 35 and the buy back is 50. If so we have to walk away from this one.

24 Jul 2026 12:47:01
100% agree Corkey. 👍 👏 💯

24 Jul 2026 13:00:50
Funny one this, this "clause" from what I can see isn't being reported by any of the big hitter journo's,

Just the clickbait internet aggregate sites ala newsnow, TEAMtalk etc that aren't exactly reputable.

I may be wrong on that.

Also, knowing how our lot work, who is leaking that kind of key contractual details out on the day the news breaks that talks are at an advanced stage.

I'm sure there may well be a release clause amd that's not exactly unusual, I'd hope it's at least £20m more than we are hoping to pay, and had strict parameters included that benefit both the player and the club.

Example, active only after 2 years, etc etc.

24 Jul 2026 13:56:24
I expect it's likely a first-refusal clause, so if we agree on a fee of any value with a club, Citeh are allowed the opportunity to match it.

24 Jul 2026 20:50:34
MC inserted a buyback clause when they sold him to Burnley, and subsequently activated it, so I guess people might assume that they'd try to do the same with us, so that they could easily grab him back if Donnarumma crocks himself. I hope we resist any such suggestion if one is made.

24 Jul 2026 22:25:36
The "interweb" reporting that it all hangs on Torino buying Perri; everything else agreed?

25 Jul 2026 06:58:32
I found that the Ceefax was more reliable, Ani!

25 Jul 2026 07:34:40
Agree. Buy back should be after a minimum of 2 seasons, and at double the price.

25 Jul 2026 11:52:05
We all say what the clauses should or should not be, and how much should be paid, and the terms and conditions of the sale, but not one of us knows exactly what is available, and what the possibilities are on the terms of negotiations.


It's literally a complete guess, we simply have no idea, and we probably will not know any of the terms that are met in buying a player like Trafford.

Nobody has mentioned yet whether a loan to buy is even possible for Trafford?

24 Jul 2026 08:17:16
Would anyone be able to give any info on the new younger squad players taken to the US.
Age, position and potential.

24 Jul 2026 08:49:59
The Three I believe could possibly bridge the gap to the senior side 70, just my opinion, you understand.

Lineou - LB: took him from Citeh, finished the season very strongly. If he maintained the same level of development, I could see him added to the squad, especially if they wished to direct funds elsewhere. He's an excellent and exciting prospect, though more a Jed Spence type of defender, quick and skilful.

Alfie Cresswell - CM/DM. I believe he is the best youth prospect currently, captain and plays like his elder brother (Baz's love child) .

Very strong in the tackle, good in the air and scores the odd goal. Not creativity though in the Amps, Gruev mould.

Rory Malhaddy - GK: pinched from Celtic, highly rated particularly in Scotland, but their bar for national keepers is lower than ours. He has developed well and, again, has the potential to be a squad keeper. Whether he's a first choice, it's too early to say at this stage.

Don't see any world beaters or that creative number 10 we crave, and you'll appreciate bridging the gap to an EPL team is a stratospheric leap from a Championship side.

24 Jul 2026 09:01:44
The game against Wrexham is live on Premier Sports.

24 Jul 2026 09:06:07
Thank you. If those 3 can make the jump, we probably only need to spend out on another 4/5 players.
G K Trafford ?
C Half
Brandt
Number 10 and
Striker.

24 Jul 2026 11:51:04
Watch out for Coban Bird, 19-year-old LB.
I saw him play a couple of years back, and he was unbelievable.

24 Jul 2026 12:18:39
Whilst other positions would be a bonus, I think we need to concentrate on 3 positions:
GK - Trafford?
AM/10 - Brandt?
Striker - ???

Add a backup GK and LWB, and we're nearly good to go.

24 Jul 2026 07:39:08
{Ed's Note - Shappy has posted a new article entitled, United's Squad Balance and the Left-Side Dilemma

24 Jul 2026 03:59:07
All a bit weird.
We have spent 34 plus both new boys wages.
If we say spend 40 on Trafford. Our budget I thought was 90-100. That only leaves us 26 for the others. Mainly and importantly a good striker. Am lb minimum. Know we going to maybe sell one or two but we might not. Would rather the 40 go on striker. See what unfolds.

24 Jul 2026 06:19:49
I wonder if we may see Jayden Leinou as back up for Gudmonson at LB.
Farke doesn't have the best track record with young players, though, but it could save us some £££.

24 Jul 2026 07:06:53
Was thinking the same, Mighty. He's just signed a new 3 Yr contract, so is clearly rated.

24 Jul 2026 09:04:19
As I have said before, if we can get Trafford, hopefully sell Perri to offset the fee, and look to pick up a decent lower league keeper as a number two.

24 Jul 2026 09:09:58
It's amazing, some of you blokes have been banging on about getting a quality keeper for a number of seasons now, and heavily lambasting all the ones we've had.
Now that it looks like we are getting, perhaps, a future England number one, you'd rather be spending similar money on a striker, which, incidentally, we already have in DCL for the time being, not forgetting an injury free season in the last one.

With his new regime and training methods, there's no reason he can't complete another injury free season with 15+ goals.
Good number nines are rare, and they come at a premium for Premiership standards.
We can't afford that, and relying on goals by the rest of the team is what we have to do.

We are not an elite football club.

On the goalkeeping subject, maybe you'd prefer to keep Perri as our number one?

24 Jul 2026 09:26:09
Err, OP, peeps have already answered your
points in the thread immediately below and other threads. Have a gander. 😆

24 Jul 2026 10:27:22
Good post, Op. I get people saying it's crazy to be spending £40 million on just a Gk over a striker, personally I believe they are of equal importance.

Many posters highlighted (myself included) how Mezz errors cost us promotion, a £200 million bounty delayed for another season, but in reality, no striker can guarantee goals, however much you spend. Look at Dcl vs Isak and their respective seasons.

So what's wrong with spending the majority of your budget on a proven quality keeper, England international, if we can pull a few more Dcl type rabbits out of the hat.



Finally, I believe it's really exciting and shows tangible growth if we're breaking our transfer record every season, if it's for proven quality.

We have to trust the process, which, contrary to a lot of views last year (including my own) , were slating Underwood, but his signings kept us up last season, so why not believe we can do it again.

The alternative is just too depressing, unless "I told you so" is of greater importance of course.

24 Jul 2026 11:15:22
Meslier was an absolute calamity of a keeper, Class, and thankfully we had the very reliable Darlow instead

You mention Isak. Yes, he had an injury-plagued season for Pool, but he scored barrel loads for Newcastle

Personally, I would rather sign a reliable, good keeper for much, much less (they are definitely available for much less) than £40 million or more

And then still be able to spend on a striker, and still have money for other positions, rather than have to scour only for free transfers / free agents (which is a much, much smaller choice of players and talent)

P.S.

You also didn't mention the buy-back clause, OP and Class

What are your feelings, fellas, if Citeh insert a mandatory buy-back clause in the contract and the buy-back fee is only relatively marginally more than the transfer fee we were to pay Citeh? Hmm.

24 Jul 2026 11:29:47
Yes, we have spent £34M and added two big earning players, but we've also removed a few from the payroll - Struijk, Schmidt, Wober already, and maybe Harrison and others to follow, and will likely earn something in transfer fees when we make a few sales, all of which will offset our spend on new (hopefully better) players.

24 Jul 2026 11:33:20
That's my point, Baz, with regard to no guarantees with strikers; you cannot legislate for serious injuries, irrespective of how much you spend on a striker.

But absolutely Isak's goals record, as reflected in his transfer fee, is infinitely better than Dcl's and should remain so over time, but we don't shop at the Harrods store as yet; Sunderland and Bournemouth have proved you can find strikers within our budget like Brobbey and Kroupi.



Personally, I wouldn't accept a buy back clause, Baz. In fact, I would prefer to buy Steele from Brighton as he travelled with the England WC party and is so consistent.
But again, I have no problem with the premise of spending the majority of our budget on James Custard if that's what the club chooses to do.

24 Jul 2026 11:38:21
Fair enough on your follow up post, Class..
I like Jason Steele also.

24 Jul 2026 12:24:24
Not that simple anymore under SSR Aus. Clubs are not allowed to spend over 85% of their income/revenue, so this includes transfers, wages, merchandising, etc. So, I would guess we do not know how much we have to spend and how much room we have now, but the club does. 😁

24 Jul 2026 12:25:15
Where has this talk of a buy back clause come from in the first place?
I'm certain it's not from the Elland Rd or Etihad boardrooms.
If there is anything behind it, it will probably be Trafford's agent figuring more ways to make more money.


I'm not sure there would be many clubs who would pay that high transfer fee with a buy out clause attached to it, and I don't think Parag would go for it either, especially for a goalie that hasn't hit the top level yet.

24 Jul 2026 13:08:19
You're right, Vid, about the 85% squad spending ratio, but you only get a points deduction if you exceed 115% - automatic 6 points.
A club can spend up to 115%, but there is a rolling period, and any underspend in following seasons is used to offset the excess this year.


The gamble might be to spend up to 115%, improve the squad enough to ensure safety, so that over the next couple of seasons the spending could be below the 85% level and incur no financial penalty.
We're also pursuing Leicester for £35m, so there might be some cash from that as well.

24 Jul 2026 13:54:32
I thought that too, actually, Dunelm. In theory, we can overspend this window, but make sure we unload a few before it's too late. A gamble, but doable.

23 Jul 2026 21:55:10
Lots of chatter tonight regarding Demirovic and Paixao, is there a world were we signed?

Wilson
Muharemovic
Brandt
Trafford
Demirovic
Paixao
Left back cover
Back up keeper.

If Carlesberg did transfer windows.

23 Jul 2026 22:38:16
That would, without doubt, be seriously impressive.

Particularly like the goal stats of Demirovic. Good target man, quick on the turn, clinical finisher.

2 down, 6 to go. Fingers crossed. 🤞