Newcastle United star wanted by Leeds United as £100m transfer war chest ‘revealed’

Leeds United will aim to buck the trend of newly-promoted teams being relegated straight back to the Championship next season - and will reportedly spend £100m to try and do that. Daniel Farke’s side won the Championship on a dramatic final day ahead of Burnley on goal difference as the pair ran away with automatic promotion.

Whilst four teams will battle in the play-offs for the remaining promotion place, Leeds can begin to prepare for next season, with Newcastle United’s Sean Longstaff reportedly among the players they are considering. Longstaff has just one year left on his contract at St James’ Park and admitted earlier this season that his future on Tyneside is far from certain.

“If it’s here it’s great. If it’s not, it’s not,” Longstaff said following the win over Arsenal in November.

“I want to be valued as a player, I want to be appreciated as a player and whether it’s here great. If it’s not here and it’s somewhere else, it’ll be somewhere else.

“In a way I live day to day, game to game and I just try and take in every game. I get to go to work every day and spend it with my best friends, I don’t know what’s coming ahead, I don’t know what’s coming down the line, I just try to embrace every day and enjoy every minute because ultimately it won’t last forever.”

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Longstaff entered the campaign with just a year left on his current contract, but the club triggered an option to extend that for another year. The Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules mean that selling an academy graduate for a decent fee can unlock doors in the transfer market that selling other players simply cannot do.

Leeds United’s transfer war chest and Longstaff links

Last month, reports in the I detailed interest from Elland Road in Longstaff. With plenty of Premier League experience and just one year left on his current deal, Longstaff could be someone Leeds make a move for to help bolster their midfield.

Longstaff, though, could be just one of numerous signings Leeds make this summer with Sky Sports reporting that could spend up to £100m. This type of transfer spend would be a lot for a newly-promoted team, however, the last two seasons have shown that the gap between Premier League and Championship is big and growing by the year.

Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Southampton all failed to bridge that gap this season, much like Sheffield United, Luton Town and the Clarets a season prior to them. Investing heavily into a promoted squad seems to be the only way that clubs will be able to survive in the Premier League.

However, as Nottingham Forest discovered, that comes with the risk of breaching PSR and subsequent points deductions. Leeds’ first priority, though, will be to secure Premier League survival and spending £100m may be a risk they feel is worth taking.

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