Leeds United fans don’t have long to wait to see their side in action once more with Manchester City set to travel to Elland Road on December 28. That game will be the Whites’ first in almost seven weeks and it will kickstart a run of key games that takes the club into the New Year.
With January just around the corner, Leeds Live take a look at some of the major storylines that will dominate in 2023.
The takeover
Talk of a takeover from minority shareholders 49ers Enterprises is only set to intensify in the New Year as we edge ever closer to January 2024. It’s no secret that the San Francisco 49ers investment arm has an option to buyout Andrea Radrizzani and a full takeover now looks to be inevitable.
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Recent reports have claimed the Americans have started to pull together the necessary funds to complete the purchase with suggestions that a deal could be finalised by the end of the current Premier League season. 49ers Enterprises first invested in Leeds back in 2018, a year after Radrizzani’s takeover of the club, and slowly but surely they have increased their stake.
At present they own 44 per cent, with Radrizzani holding the other 56, and it now feels like a case of when, not if, they pull the trigger. Big changes come with any takeover and the picture will certainly become clearer in the coming months.
The window
One of the first major storylines of the year will be the January transfer window and the business Leeds do within it as they look to move themselves away from the Premier League relegation zone and secure a fourth straight season of top flight football. As it stands Leeds are just two points above the bottom three, but they are making the right noises about being active and they know what they need.
A striker is the priority, having failed in late pursuits of Bamba Dieng and Cody Gakpo in the summer, while most supporters would welcome the sight of a new left-back, too. Whether they land their targets and make the necessary improvements or not, the January window promises to be pivotal and a major talking point for the remainder of the campaign.
While the focus will be on incomings, there could be a departure or two as well, with Mateusz Klich one being heavily linked away at present.
Contracts
Leeds have already started to tie down players to long-term deals, but they still have plenty of work to do over the coming months. Pascal Struijk was the first player to secure his future at Elland Road this season, while Diego Llorente’s extension was announced on Friday afternoon.
However, the likes of Jack Harrison, Robin Koch, Liam Cooper and Rodrigo are all entering the final 18 months of their contracts and the club must act if they wish to prevent them ticking into their final years. Decisions must be made on Luke Ayling, Adam Forshaw and Joel Robles, too, who are in possession of contracts that are due to expire at the end of the current season.
Elland Road improvements
Radrizzani purchased Elland Road from Jacob Adler’s Teak Commercial Ltd for £20million back in June 2017 and he has spoken on a regular basis about his plans for redevelopment and expansion. The chairman went on the record about it in August in an interview with The Athletic, explaining his plans to renovate the West Stand and increase the stadium’s capacity to 55,000.
It won’t come cheap, with £100m the figure quoted by Radrizzani, but it seems the wheels are in motion, with Angus Kinnear looking at ways to finance the project. Little has been said about Elland Road improvements since, but an update may well come in the coming months.
World Cup aftermath
This Premier League season has already been unique as teams come to the end of a seven-week long break for the World Cup, but the tournament in Qatar promises to have an impact moving forward, too. Schedules will be hectic over the second half of the season, particularly for those competing in Europe, and burnout and fatigue will be spoken about on a regular basis.
There could be a few shocks on the cards in terms of results and that could act to spice things up at the top and the bottom of the Premier League table.
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