Charlie Cresswell could be set to leave Toulouse for Borussia Dortmund, granting Leeds United some extra funds for their transfer kitty.
Charlie Cresswell was sold for just £4 million to Toulouse last summer, with Daniel Farke not favouring the Leeds United academy product in the 2023/24 Championship campaign.
Cresswell had a ‘dream’ of playing for Leeds but Farke didn’t fancy him. After departing the club permanently, some Leeds fans believe Cresswell’s sale was a mistake.
Cresswell has had to develop rapidly in Ligue 1 since then, but Cresswell has thanked Leeds for their development of him as well. The 23-year-old only made 14 appearances for his local side however.
Now, Toulouse want as much as £18 million for Cresswell. Leeds United News has the latest information regarding that and what it might mean for Leeds this summer.
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Photo by VALENTINE CHAPUIS/AFP via Getty Images
The situation with Charlie Cresswell and Leeds’ PSR boost explained
Fabrizio Romano has confirmed he can leave Toulouse in recent months of the window. Liverpool are also keeping tabs on Cresswell’s development after his Ligue 1 antics last term.
It’s now reported by David Ornstein that Borussia Dortmund are bidding for Cresswell and plan to again after an initial rejected bid yesterday. There are reasons to be excited by that fact for Leeds.
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Beren Cross of The Athletic states: “Cresswell had an excellent season with Toulouse. Now attracting interest from one of Europe’s biggest clubs. Leeds with a 15 per cent sell-on too.”
Leeds United News spoke with financial expert Adam Williams. Of course, Dortmund might not need to get to the £18 million asking price to land Cresswell, but doing so would create financial headroom for Leeds.
Based on those figures, he explained: “A fee like that gives Leeds £2.7 million towards their bottom line, which gives them £2.7 million more PSR capacity.
“In a sense, that could, for example, be used to sign a £13.5 million player on a five-year amortised deal at Elland Road.”
Cresswell would be just the second player to provide that sort of wriggle room financially, following the sale of Rasmus Kristensen to Eintracht Frankfurt.
As an example, Christantus Uche is of interest to Leeds, and he could be the kind of player Leeds could fund with the Cresswell money. In the last few days, it’s reported that Uche is valued at £13 million.
Unfortunately, Everton are also keen on Uche but Getafe sources have offered Leeds Uche hope previously this summer.
Christantus Uche gives a thumbs up during Getafe vs Celta Vigo.
Photo by Aitor Alcalde Colomer/Getty Images
Christantus Uche’s superb start to 2025/26 with Getafe
Amid Wolves and Leeds interest, Uche missed training in pre-season. However, the 6’3″ attacking midfielder stayed put and put in a quality display during Getafe’s first game of the season.
Appearances Goals Assists Yellow cards Red cards
33 – La Liga 4 6 5 2
5 – Copa del Rey 0 1 1 0
Christantus Uche’s 2024/25 season stats
Last year, in his first La Liga campaign, Uche scored or assisted 11 goals. This campaign, he has already notched a goal, an assist, and a yellow card in an all-action display against Celta Vigo.
Uche was utilised as a centre-forward and was the best player on the pitch during a 2-0 win. FotMob handed him an 8.6 match rating during the win.