Here are your latest Leeds United headlines for Friday, April 14.
Rodrigo claim
Leeds United are on the verge of reaching a verbal agreement with Rodrigo to sell the forward if the club suffer relegation this season. That is according to Football Insider, who claim the 32-year-old has already stressed his desire not to play in the Championship next term.
The former Valencia star is said to be the highest earner at Elland Road, and the report outlines the club 'understand' it would be difficult to keept the attacker on a financial basis. Rodrigo is also out of contract in the summer of 2024, and the forward is yet to make a Premier League start under Javi Gracia.
Liverpool lowdown
Leeds United host Liverpool on Monday at Elland Road in the Premier League and ahead of the game we spoke to Liverpool Echo's Keifer MacDonald for the lowdown on the Reds
What’s the story of the season at Anfield? Why are last season’s Premier League runners-up facing their lowest finish since 2016?
There is no beating around the bush, this season at Anfield has been severely disappointing across the board. Having finished within a whisker of footballing immortality last May as Liverpool narrowly missed out on an unprecedented quadruple, there was a huge amount of optimism heading into the new season, with them bolstered by the arrival of Darwin Nunez, the club-record retention of Mohamed Salah and a first full pre-season for Luis Diaz.
However, currently sitting 12 points adrift of Champions League qualification and in serious danger of missing out on a place in Europe's premier competition for the first time since 2017, there are a number of different reasons being cited as the Reds' downfall.
Unexpected individual slumps, see Fabinho, Virgil van Dijk and Salah, as well as a collective hangover from last season's tiresome 63-game campaign have both been noted as reasons behind such inconsistencies.
Perhaps the most irritating factor for regular watchers of Liverpool, however, has been the array of glaring issues that have made it near impossible to single out just one mitigating factor, as was the case in 2020/21 when a below-par second half of the season was justified by the absence of all four senior defenders.
The historic thrashing of Manchester United at Anfield last month, as well as victories over Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and a spirited display against league leaders Arsenal on Sunday, show there is still a wealth of quality in the squad, but channelling that on a consistent basis has been a real problem.
You can read the full story here.
Leeds' losses explained
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has explained why Leeds United's lost £37million despite posting their highest ever financial turnover. The Whites posted a record turnover for their 2021-22 campaign, with £189million during their second season back in the Premier League.
That’s a rise of £18m from the previous year, with growths in merchandise sales, commercial revenue streams and ticket sales being credited, but the increase in wages, parting company with Marcelo Bielsa, fall in tv revenue the ongoing Jean-Kevin Augustin case meant the Whites ended the calendar year in a deficit.
Speaking on The Price of Football podcast, Maguire said: "Leeds have fantastic revenues and again, it's indicative of the potential of the club. Especially if Elland Road is expanded in due course.
You can read the full story here.
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