Luke Edwards has dropped a huge update on the San Fransico 49ers’ proposed takeover of Leeds United.
What’s the latest?
In a recent article for The Telegraph, the journalist revealed that, following the Whites dramatically securing Premier League survival on Sunday, the American franchise are now likely to take full control of the club ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.
Edwards went on to state that, while Andrea Radrizzani has always claimed it is his decision as to whether he would be willing to sell his controlling stake at Elland Road, the 49ers appear as if they will purchase a controlling share of Leeds sooner rather than later, with further news regarding the takeover expected to emerge in the coming days.
In his piece, the journalist wrote: “Is this the end of the Andrea Radrizzani era? The San Francisco 49ers NFL franchise is likely to take a controlling stake in the club sooner rather than later.
“They have been edging towards a full takeover ever since they took a 10 per cent stake four years ago. They could well be in full control before the start of next season. We can expect some sort of news on this to filter out in the coming days.”
Supporters will love Edwards’ update
While the Elland Road faithful will undoubtedly still be riding the high of seeing their side secure their Premier League status on the final day of the season, once the dust settles, questions must be asked as to how Leeds found themselves battling relegation after such an impressive return to the top flight last time out.
Do you think the 49ers will purchase Leeds this summer?
Yes
No
Two answers to this question point towards the current Leeds hierarchy, with Victor Orta’s poor record of recent recruitment coupled with Radrizzani’s lack of spending in the January transfer window playing a huge part in the Whites’ fall from being a top-half team in 2020/21 to one that narrowly escaped relegation just 12 months later.
Indeed, since Leeds’ promotion to the Premier League back in 2020, the vast majority of the Spaniard’s big-money signings have proven to be disappointments, with none of Junior Firpo (£13m), Diego Llorente (£17m), Robin Koch (£11.7m), Rodrigo (£27m) and Dan James (£25m) having particularly lived up to their price tags.
Meanwhile, despite sitting just five points above the relegation zone and being in the midst of a catastrophic injury crisis at the turn of the year, the only movement in or out of Elland Road in the winter window was the departure of highly-rated right-back Cody Drameh – who joined Cardiff City on a short-term loan deal.
As such, it is perhaps not surprising to learn that Leeds supporters made it clear on a recent poll ran on Football FanCast that they would like to see Radrizzani sell up this summer, and, following Edwards’ latest update, it looks as if they could well get their wish in the not too distant future.
AND in other news: “Leeds are closing…”: Romano drops huge transfer update, supporters will be buzzing