Leeds United sold Charlie Cresswell to Toulouse 11 months ago and the centre-back’s form in France has seen him look set to earn a transfer to ambitious Serie A side Como, managed by Cesc Fabregas.
The balancing act of Leeds’ ambition being to get back to a comfortable top flight position means that they have had to make sacrifices on PSR terms.
Unfortunately, the state of the current financial rules means it’s beneficial for Leeds to use their academy players as key ways to drive up profit, not bought for a fee and worth considerable amounts, like Charlie Cresswell leaving in 2024.
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Charlie Cresswell heading for Como transfer less than a year on from Leeds United exit to Toulouse
Leeds completed the sale of Cresswell to Toulouse for £3.8million back in July 2024, a much-needed sale alongside the major departures of Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter to boost the club’s PSR standing.
(Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra)
The centre-back’s time in France has been encouraging, helping Toulouse to a 10th-place finish while becoming a popular figure for his aggressive defensive style both on the deck and in the air, a reputation he forged while on loan at Millwall in 22/23 too.
Now, the England U21 international is on the move again with Gianluca Di Marzio reporting that a transfer to Cesc Fabregas’ Como is all but agreed.
Toulouse were initially commanding a fee in the region of £21.4m, but look to be settling for a fee of around £14.5million to allow Cresswell’s move to Italy.
Leeds United sell-on clause revealed in Charlie Cresswell, Como transfer update
The question for Leeds is the possibility of an added windfall via a sell-on clause included in the young centre-back’s contract.
The YEP have now revealed that Leeds are due to receive 15% of any profit made by Toulouse in this sale.
Should the transfer be completed at the above fee, Leeds would be gaining 15% of £10.7million, therefore an estimated £1.6million.
Shrewd sell-on clause but is Cresswell another youngster Leeds United have let go too soon?
It’s good business to have 15% of profit as a sell-on clause, but Leeds are again potentially looking at a talented centre-back excelling elsewhere after being sold early in his Elland Road career.
The same happened with Elia Caprile and Max Dean (previous owners), and we could also see Mateo Joseph leave for a decent fee this summer too.
While the money we got for Cresswell allowed us to reinvest in Jayden Bogle shortly after he left, it underlines the issue with PSR that bright academy talents are the players that clubs immediately look to profit from, rather than develop.