Sam Allardyce has questioned whether the San Francisco 49ers are serious about Premier League promotion at Leeds United after losing key players.
Archie Gray and Crysencio Summerville are two of those that quit Elland Road after losing the play-off final in May.
Glen Kamara, another first-team regular, has been sold, while Joe Rothwell and Jayden Bogle have joined.
During the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast [9 August, 23m 32s], Allardyce questioned the decision-making behind the Summerville sale to West Ham.
“It’s sad for Leeds because they’re selling too many,” he told me.
“If they want to get back up there, Leeds fans will be wondering if the San Francisco 49ers are right for them if they’re selling assets and not getting a team together that’s good enough to get promoted.”
Leeds United should make additional signings.
The 49ers do have Leeds’ best interests at heart, but United’s inability to enter the Premier League last season after putting so much effort into it has come back to haunt them.
The Whites just couldn’t keep the squad together given the wages many of them were on, let alone another year without Premier League money.
The trouble is, no one anticipated Gray, a boyhood admirer and future superstar, to leave this summer.
The move to Tottenham was unexpected, but it did provide the 49ers with some much-needed revenue.
Even after Gray’s departure, Summerville’s sale was not entirely unexpected. However, the club may have demanded a higher upfront cost.
Regardless, the sales have been completed, and it is now a matter of strengthening before the transfer window shuts.
Leeds United are still looking to sign Jonathan Rowe from Norwich City [Sky Sports, 9 August], and they also appear to be interested in Liverpool’s Bobby Clark [Anfield Index, 8 August].
If the club can close those signings, or two of comparable quality, the squad will be more than capable of competing for automatic promotion.
Once that is accomplished, no one will challenge those in charge.
