Interesting comments. Fulmine might approve:
Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan isn't everyone's 'cup of tea' by any stretch! But, here's what he said on TalkSport today about the ongoing Phillips and Raphinha transfer situations and potential transfer fees - something a lot of Leeds fans will agree with.
● "Given they [Leeds United] escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth, clearly they need to improve....... We know they’ve been disadvantaged with some key players being out for much of the season, but so did other clubs. I’d like to hear if we were speaking to Leeds United that these players (Phillips and Raphinha) were not for sale full stop, rather than 'we’re focusing on incoming transfers’, because that’s a way of circumventing the fact at this moment in time we haven’t got transfers but when we do we’ll sell them.
● "If Leeds United are going to sell these players to clubs like Man City - who aren’t bigger clubs, but are bigger in their achievements - then these players are going to want to go there. What you want to achieve is the maximum amount of money. ‘You want our best players, the players that we have cultivated and developed? You’ve got to pay the top money’, so that Leeds United can kick on, regain their poise and regain their development back to the big club that their stature and size details they could and should be.”
As most Leeds fans in our ALAW!!! Facebook Group know, valuations of either player have ranged from £40-70million (or a low as £35million if you’re asset-rich, cash-poor Barcelona). But the Leeds Board look to be remaining reasonably stubborn in response to speculation.
Arsenal’s approach for Brazilian winger Raphinha is said to be around the £50million mark. And, asked if Leeds should be taking this sort of money? Jordan strongly suggested they should be pushing for more.
● "Not enough, not enough for Leeds. He’s a good player, an integral part of Leeds, he’s a very very talented footballer from the same genre as Riyad Mahrez.” He added. “If Leeds are going to be forced into a situation where they sell him because Arsenal are currently doing better, they’ve got to pay top, top money. That’s what Leeds have to do and what Radrizzani has to achieve.
● “For Raphinha, as much as I can get. If they offer me £50million, I want £70million, if they offer me £70million, I want £80million - I’d want them to work as hard as they can and sweat the asset and make sure they get nothing from me that was vaguely resembling what they thought was a deal.
● "They don’t want to sell these players, so it’s incumbent on them who buy them to do the hard yards. It’s not Leeds’ job to do the hard yards, they can say ‘we don’t want to sell the players. We’re focusing on incomings’, and incomings they need. They don’t just need to keep Phillips and Raphinha, they need to keep Raphinha and Philips in an ideal world and supplement and build and support the manager - who I’m not entirely sure is the right one but he saved them so gets a shout.”
My hope is that they will both stay, and this will be a great season for us. But if either, or both, go I don't want to see them sold to big rivals. And importantly we should not be selling them for knock-down discount prices. We are not in a fire-sale situation and nobody she be getting Raph or Peanut for peanuts!
Chris, ALAW!!!