Ciaran Morrison

Fri 27 March 2026 11:30, UK

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Leeds United’s expansion of Elland Road could be a financial burden for the club if they are relegated to the Championship.

That is according to ex-Everton, Aston Villa, and Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes Leeds will find it financially “tough” if they suffer Premier League relegation.

Daniel Farke’s side are four points above the relegation zone, with seven matches remaining, but the Yorkshire club have won none of their last six league games.

Leeds have had plans approved to expand Elland Road from its current capacity of 37,645 to around 53,000 seats.

Once completed, the stadium expansion would earn Leeds extra matchday revenue, but such benefits may only be felt in the Premier League.

Leeds face extra ‘layer of financial need’ if relegated to the Championship

Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes relegation rivals Tottenham would be able to financially handle relegation better than Leeds.

Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness backs Leeds to remain in the top flight, but he is not ruling anything out in the remainder of the season.

He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “It’s big for Leeds because the other thing that they’ve got, apart from just being able to adjust the squad and the wage levels and those sort of things, is they’ve got this new construction project going on around Elland Road.

“That’s another layer of complexity and financial need that a lot of other clubs won’t have to handle right now. In terms of if you compare it to Spurs, they are pretty lucky in a sense. They’ll still have things like the concert income and the NFL or there will be other events coming in that will help protect the revenue streams.

“Leeds have now got an extra layer of cost with the stadium rebuild, so it would be particularly tough for Leeds to go down. I personally think they’ll be able to fight it through and stay up, and it’s disappointing to see them get to this stage, and they’ve actually been sort of sucked back into it and it could happen.

“Look, let’s be sure anything’s possible with those four clubs down there at the bottom right now. But I think for Leeds it could have a particularly damaging effect.”

Leeds to make financial adjustment if relegated

Former Manchester City financial advisor Stefan Borson told Football Insider that Leeds’ wage bill will drop if they are relegated from the Premier League.

The club will be preparing for a reduction in broadcast revenue, but income from matchday’s could stay the same if Farke’s side are winning games at the top of the table in the Championship.

Leeds won the Championship title last season under Farke, winning 29 of their 46 matches across the campaign, which was able to draw strong crowds to Elland Road.