In the summer, Leeds United were forced into the sale of Archie Gray as The Whites looked to avoid straying over boundaries set in place by the Profit & Sustainability Rules.
Gray’s £40m move to Tottenham was the so-called sweet spot in terms of Financial Fairplay. Pure profit, a player that did not cost anything in terms of a transfer fee, meaning the full whack can be used by Leeds.
Leeds needed it. The sale of Diego Llorente to Real Betis was a bad one, having cost Leeds a fee of £18m and being sold for £2.5m while Marc Roca was also a loss, bought for £10m and sold for less than half.
Elsewhere, Robin Koch left for nothing have been bought for north of £10m. But there were positives as Leeds got their money back on Luis Sinisterra and Tyler Adams, and profiting on four other transfers.
Charlie Cresswell like Gray, was pure profit in joining Toulouse for £3.8m. Georginio Rutter’s £40m move to Brighton has started well and even that is a small profit, while Crysencio Summerville helped Leeds too.
Imminent Rasmus Kristensen deal is a welcome boost for Leeds
Summerville was sold for £34m if West Ham’s add-ons are met, a big profit on the £1.3m he cost to sign as an unknown teen from Feyenoord. It meant Leeds could reinvest and sign a handful of new players.
Joe Rodon, Jayden Bogle, Ao Tanaka, Isaac Schmidt and Largie Ramazani are expected to cost the best part of a combined £35m. With parachute payments dropping in the second year, Leeds needed to sell.
They have done that, making plenty of profit while retaining a decent side capable of winning automatic promotion. Meanwhile, Leeds are closing in on the permanent sale of Rasmus Kristensen to Frankfurt.
Joining the German side on loan, he has impressed in Germany. Frankfurt want to strike the permanent deal in Kristensen’s loan and if they do rubber-stamp a move, it helps Leeds in terms of Financial Fairplay.
Leeds may have feared that Kristensen would be another Llorente
There have been other losses in the eyes of Financial Fairplay, too. After Kristensen’s dismal loan at Roma, Leeds will have feared losing more cash on the Dane but he has started well alongside defender Koch.
| Name | Bought for | Sold for | Loss |
| Rodrigo | £27m | £3m | £24m |
| Diego Llorente | £18m | £2.5m | £15.5m |
| Marc Roca | £10m | £4m | £6m |
| Robin Koch | £11m | Free | £11m |
Kristensen even scored in the Europa League for Frankfurt, and German media described Kristensen’s display against Bayern Munich as “tireless” on Sunday. A permanent deal is now expected for the Dane.
Indeed, Frankfurt are ready to activate the permanent clause in Kristensen’s loan. It is believed that will see Frankfurt pay between £8.4m and £10m, on a player that Leeds initially bought for a fee of £10m.
It means that having previously thought he might be in the same boat as Roca and Llorente, Leeds can now hope to rake in the same amount they paid to sign Kristensen and therefore, won’t make a loss.
Having spent two seasons away from Leeds on loan, there is no future at Elland Road. He will want to go, Leeds will want to sell and Frankfurt want to buy. It is a good move for all, including Financial Fairplay.
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