Revealed: Newcastle takeover spells bad news for Leeds after huge Sky update
The imminent Newcastle United takeover spells bad news for Leeds United as the club are set to be provided with the funds to entice Kalvin Phillips if his team don’t get promoted, Football Insider can reveal.
The Amanda Staveley-led consortium close to taking over the club is laying the groundwork for an ambitious overhaul of the playing squad this summer.
A Newcastle source has told Football Insider that plans are afoot for a spending spree overseen by a “world-class” manager.
The top target is Mauricio Pochettino, with Sky Sports reporting yesterday that the prospective new owners are willing to pay him an extraordinary £19million-a-year, equivalent to £365,000-a-week.
Current boss Steve Bruce had identified the striker, central midfielder and winger positions as priorities to be strengthened this summer.
The source explained that Phillips has been one of the players on the radar of the of the recruitment team as they assess midfield enforcer targets.
Leeds knocked back bids of up to £27million from Premier League clubs for Phillips last summer before tying him to a new five-year contract in September.
That deal is believed to include a release clause of over £20m and comes into effect this summer if United do not go up into the Premier League.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side are well placed to do so given they are top of the Championship with nine matches remaining and seven points clear of third place.
But there is great uncertainty over whether the season will be completed given the crippling effect of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Premier League is in the process of ratifying a proposed £300million takeover of the club by Staveley’s consortium, which includes Saudi’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
They are planning major investment in players and infrastructure that will see the club make major moves in the transfer market.
The club are already in contact with leading agents as they look to recruit big names who can make an instant impact next season.
In other Newcastle United news, it’s been claimed just two first-team stars are safe from being axed this summer amid major takeover reveal.