Leeds United are a Premier League club again but sales can help them to raise further cash towards their 2025/26 budget.
Daniel Farke and the 49ers can sell Joe Gelhardt, Sam Greenwood, Darko Gyabi, Jack Harrison, Illan Meslier, and even Mateo Joseph if they wish to raise Leeds United funds.
The Whites have added three names to their squad for next season so far but finances could get tight later in the window, meaning sales on top of those types of fringe players is not out of the question.
One other way Leeds can make money is by having clubs make use of the various sell-on clauses that they have inserted in the contracts of former players who they once sold, including Charlie Cresswell.
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West Ham United could hand Leeds cash from a Charlie Cresswell deal
Cresswell had a ‘dream’ of playing for Leeds but Farke didn’t fancy him when he had the likes of Pascal Struijk, Joe Rodon, Ethan Ampadu, and Liam Cooper ahead of Cresswell in the pecking order.
However, Cresswell has thanked Leeds for their development of him, even if he has since been developed far more in Ligue 1 with Toulouse.
Joe Hart is impressed with Cresswell’s mentality in joining them out in France. Now, Toulouse want as much as £18 million for Cresswell.
That’s amid Premier League interest in Cresswell from Sunderland, but fresh reports have now emerged detailing further interest in the 22-year-old from elsewhere in the English top flight.
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There’s a “real possibility” West Ham push to sign him this summer after an impressive tournament at the U-21 European Championships.
That’s according to the popular and reputable exWHUemployee via The West Ham Way. The insider states: “West Ham seriously interested, with a move for the player a real possibility. Cresswell is also a homegrown player, which is also attractive to the club.”
A few weeks ago, Graham Smyth of The Yorkshire Evening Post reported Leeds have a 15% sell-on clause in Cresswell’s contract at Toulouse after he signed last summer.
Some Leeds fans are convinced selling Cresswell was a mistake but Leeds could make plenty from that sell-on if Toulouse collect a fee anywhere near that £18 million valuation.
Charlie Cresswell in action for England's U21 side.
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Weighing up if Leeds made a mistake with Charlie Cresswell
Mateo Joseph and Cresswell got involved in a post-match brawl at the Euros where Harry Gray compared Cresswell to a UFC star for his antics.
His physicality and mentality were always there in terms of being a physical threat at both ends of the pitch and a leader, but would Cresswell have developed like this as a player overall without the move to France?
It’s fair to say he wouldn’t have with Leeds, given their quality in that area in recent seasons. Cresswell’s value and stock has skyrocketed but remaining with the club could have easily meant the opposite.
At that age, regular minutes are required. Leeds got a fee from the sale and a sell-on from a future sale, all while gaining promotion less than a year later, meaning that it’s fair to say all parties were better off from this.