Adam Williams, Finance & Governance Correspondent

Wed 22 February 2023 6:50, UK

Leeds United are circling the drain in the Premier League, and it has been confirmed that Javi Gracia is the man the owners have chosen to plug the hole.

The hunt for a new manager has lasted – in public, at least – for a little over two weeks, with the current regime humbled by failed approaches for Andoni Iraola, Arne Slot, Alfred Schreuder and Carlos Corberan in that time.

Grarcia has been hired on what has diplomatically been described by Leeds United as a “flexible contract”, confirming what many have suspected since Jesse Marsch’s dismissal: this is a do-or-die appointment.

But while there is no doubt that Leeds’ top-flight survival is top of the agenda for Andrea Radrizzani and co-owners 49ers Enterprises at this moment in time, there is an even more seismic event on the horizon.

The transition of power from Radrizzani to the 49ers – who need to acquire seven more per cent to take a controlling stake in the West Yorkshire side – has long been in the post.

The 49ers have a put-and-call agreement to buy Radrizzani out by January next year, although the signs are that they could pull the trigger in the summer.

Football Insider understands that the US-based private equity firm are committed to the takeover regardless of whether Gracia steers the Whites to a fourth successive season in the top flight.

That means it could be a busy few months for the Premier League’s admin team in Paddington. Almost everywhere you look, regime change is on the cards.

Newcastle United, Bournemouth, Southampton and Chelsea have all changed hands in the last 18 months. Man United will have done before the end of the season. The destinies of Everton, West Ham and Tottenham are all up in the air.

An investment wind is blowing from the Middle East.

Gulf state regimes are looking to launder their images through the Premier League, an institution described to this site by geopolitics expert Professor Simon Chadwick as “the world’s most cost-effective advertising platform.”

There were even reports that unnamed investors from the Middle East could rival the 49ers in their bid to acquire Leeds United, although this suggestion stretched the credulity of those with intimate knowledge of the situation.

The fee for the takeover has been pre-agreed between Radrizzani and the 49ers. Football Insider has revealed that the price factored in the possibility of relegation and will not be adjusted should Leeds fall out of the top flight.

Even amongst the hard-nosed businessmen in the Elland Road boardroom, it would be seen as a scandalous betrayal if Radrizzani was to pivot to another investment group at such a late stage.

There is genuine respect between the two parties, who have worked together for the last five years.

The working relationship is evolving, however. Since it became a formality that the 49ers would take the reigns, the American group has had more input both in terms of decision-making and the funding of new signings.

New player registrations are paid for over the lifetime of the player’s contract, and it will be the 49ers who will foot the majority of the bills in the coming years.

It makes sense that they are increasingly pulling the strings given that, as revealed by this site, they plan to be in situ for at least 10 years post-takeover as part of a long-term capital appreciation plan.

Sources have also told Football Insider that the relative strength of the US dollar against the pound has hastened the 49ers’ investment plans. The deal, it is understood, was agreed in US currency and does not adjust with inflation.

But Radrizzani is far from a lame duck. Reports in the Netherlands suggest that he personally intervened to veto the appointment of former Ajax boss Alfred Schreuder, who remains jobless.

It is not a state secret that the Italian has an ego, as evidenced by his propensity to belch out private operational information over Twitter.

In reference to Leeds’ then-ongoing search for a new manager, he claimed on 7 February that “white smoke” could appear “tonight or tomorrow.” It was two weeks before Marsch’s successor was anointed.

Legacy is also important to Radrizzani, who with the help of Marcelo Bielsa restored Leeds to the Premier League after 16 years in the wilderness. He would be reticent to leave the club back where he found them, in the second tier.

But he is dealing with heavyweights in the 49ers, and sentiment is unlikely to stop him from walking away from a 10-fold return on the £40m he paid for Leeds.

He has also been appointed to the board of DAZN following their acquisition of Radrizzani’s sports streaming company Eleven Group in September last year.

DAZN are believed to be interested in joining a number of OTT platforms in rivalling Sky, BT and Amazon for the domestic Premier League TV deal. A new project for Radrizzani?

The imminent introduction of an independent football regulator might also provide an incentive for the 48-year-old to exit the stage. As reported by Football Insider, Radrizzani’s henchman Angus Kinnear is a sceptic, to say the least.

A return to Italy is another option that would allow Radrizzani to stay in the club ownership racket.

He unsuccessfully tried to buy Salernitana in 2021 and it is understood that more investment opportunities are expected to present themselves in Serie A and Serie B in the coming months.

In other news, Rooney could make sensational Premier League return after Leeds United latest.