Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes the reported agree deal of £170million is a fair price for Leeds United following their relegation to the Championship. Current owner Andrea Radrizzani has agreed terms with 49ers Enterprises for his shares in the club.
There's been no confirmation in relation to the size of the shares the American investment arm would be purchasing, but Maguire believes it'll be a full takeover at Elland Road. He told The Price of Football podcast : "It looks as though it's going to be a clean break. I think that makes sense.
"When things have broken down in terms of how fans and owners perceive each other, it's best not to leave anything behind and just move on. We saw in the case of Sunderland with Stewart Donald and our friend Mr Methven, it probably wasn't in their interest to be handing around at Sunderland so they've now moved on to Eastleigh and Charlton respectively - it would appear.
"I think it'll be 100 per cent ownership by the 49ers. They'll try to use their nous, their familiarity with being in the entertainment industry and that's how they see the 49ers.
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"To leverage and to monetise the Leeds United brand because we all know it's a very strong one. Leeds United fans, they're pretty vociferous, not just in West Yorkshire but they've got a big international fanbase as well."
When asked if £170 million was a fair price for the club this summer, Maguire said: "Yes, they would be my gut reaction because Leeds do have three years of parachute payments. They do have, and I hate to say it, saleable inventory - players.
"They will sell out Elland Road this season regardless of the division and their merchandise sales and commercial revenues were higher than most Premier League clubs, probably half of the Premier League clubs even when Leeds were in the Championship. They've got a lot of positives going for them and it's a case of rolling the dice now in terms of getting back to the Premier League and getting hold of addition revenues.
"What I suspect we're looking at, is £170 million plus the equivalent of transfer add-ons if they go back after one season then it'll be 'X million'. If it takes two, three or five seasons, then it's going to take it to lower figures. Certainly when we've looked at other deals at clubs being sold having been relegated, there did seem to be, in the main, a knock on fee should they make a rapid return to higher echelons."
