Leeds United fans have become even more jealous of Sunderland after their owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus’ comments this week – but the spending comparison between the two clubs doesn’t hold water, says financial expert Adam Williams.
Panic is beginning to set in with some sections of Leeds United supporters, who saw the limp 3-0 defeat to Brighton on Saturday and concluded the season will end in relegation.
Daniel Farke’s side had made a decent start to life in the Premier League but, as they have started to look toothless in attack, Leeds have been blown away by fellow promoted side Sunderland.
Regis Le Bris’ side sit fourth in the table, having lost just twice in 10 games, while Leeds have lost half of their fixtures and sit 16th.
Sunderland splashed out over £180m on 14 new players in the summer, including marquee additions Granit Xhaka, Nordi Mukiele and Brian Brobbey, not to mention beating Leeds to Habib Diarra and Noah Sadiki.
Owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus said this week that Sunderland aimed to do something ‘extraordinary’ in the transfer window and wouldn’t be limited by a budget, comments that left Leeds fans seething with jealousy.
Yet, finance expert Adam Williams has explained to Leeds United News why Leeds would not have been able to match the Black Cats’ spending power.
Close up image of Sunderland's owner, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus.
Photo by Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Sunderland had much more PSR headroom than Leeds United in the transfer window
Football finance expert Williams told Leeds United News: “Leeds United certainly didn’t have carte blanche to spend whatever they wanted over the summer.
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“They were limited by PSR, which dictates that they can’t lose any more than £61m across 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26.
“Given that they lost almost exactly £61m in 2023-24 alone, you can see how they don’t exactly have ample headroom, even though PSR-allowable deductions for infrastructure, academy investment and so on got them within the threshold for the three-year period up to the end of that season.
“They trimmed costs last season and made significant player sale profits, but they were still in a position where they couldn’t afford to bet the farm on staying up.
“They could have spent more, though – and it’s not true that they maxed out their PSR quota because it’s not a binary under-over situation, at least not until the season is over.
“By contrast, Sunderland had probably more PSR headroom than just about any promoted club in history when they came up. And in their case, they couldn’t really afford not to spend well over £100m net. The squad needed it.
“And let’s not forget that Leeds have spent considerably as well. On a net basis, there’s not that much between the two sides.”
The real annoyance for Leeds fans comes from Robbie Evans claiming the club maxed out their PSR, even though the club failed in attempts to sign Facundo Buonanotte and Harry Wilson before the window closed.
Evans also suggested the club would rather not spend in January, but those plans might have to change if things don’t improve on the pitch.
Leeds United’s summer spending compared with Sunderland
Here’s how Sunderland and Leeds’ transfer spending in the summer compares.
Leeds United signings
Lukas Nmecha – Wolfsburg, free
Jaka Bijol – Udinese, £15m
Sebastiaan Bornauw – Wolfsburg, £5.1m
Gabriel Gudmundsson – Lille, £10.3m
Sean Longstaff – Newcastle United, £12m (rising to £15m)
Anton Stach – Hoffenheim, £17.3m (rising to £19.9m)
Lucas Perri – Lyon, £13.9m (rising to £15.6m)
Dominic Calvert-Lewin – Everton, free
Noah Okafor – AC Milan, £13m (rising to £18m)
James Justin – Leicester City, £8m (rising to £10m)
Total spend: £94.6m (rising to £108.9m)
Sunderland signings
Granit Xhaka – Bayer Leverkusen, £17.3m
Simon Adingra – Brighton, £20.5m
Habib Diarra – Strasbourg, £30m
Enzo Le Fee – Roma, £20m
Noah Sadiki – Union Saint-Gilloise, £17.5m
Reinildo Mandava – Atletico Madrid, free
Chemsdine Talbi – Club Brugge, £19m
Robin Roefs – NEC Nijmegen, £11.5m
Arthur Masuaku – Besiktas, free
Omar Alderete – Getafe, £10m
Nordi Mukiele – Paris Saint-Germain, £12m
Lutsharel Geertruida – RB Leipzig, loan
Brian Brobbey – Ajax, £21.3m
Bertrand Traore – Ajax, £2.5m
Total spend: £181.6m
Sunderland’s ambition, not just in how much they spent, but the calibre of player they spent it on, certainly leaves a sour taste in the mouth for Leeds supporters, regardless of the logical PSR explanations.
Some fans even wish Leeds had risked a points deduction from breaking PSR rules to get a better squad built for survival.