Simon Jordan reacts to new announcement from Leeds United after developments

Simon Jordan reacts to new announcement from Leeds United after developments

Leeds United expanding Elland Road to 53,000 is suggestive of where the club should aspire to be in the football world, according to Simon Jordan.

Speaking live on TalkSPORT (24 September, 12:26 pm), Jordan said the Whites must get back to the Premier League if they’re to realise their potential as one of English football’s biggest clubs.

The Peacocks announced plans to raise their ground’s current capacity of 37,645 on 23 September, with new North and East stands set to make Elland Road the seventh-largest club stadium in England.

Jordan said: “You’ve now got a club that’s back, and needs to be back in the Premier League, and is building a 53,000 all-seater stadium to be, what, the seventh-biggest stadium in the country?

“It tells you where they are, where they should be, and eventually – probably – where they will be.”

Leeds United have grand plans for Elland Road

Filling Elland Road has certainly not been a problem for the Whites of late, with Jim White pointing out that the club have sold out every single home match for the last six years running [TalkSPORT, 24 September].

As the song goes though, those six years have seen plenty of ups and downs, with Marcelo Bielsa’s tenure in the dugout coinciding with a huge uptick in results, atmosphere and stature on the world stage.

However, since Bielsa’s departure in 2022 though, times have been tougher, with relegation from the Premier League following the year after and a failure to make their return at the first time of asking.

With Daniel Farke at the helm, the Whites won 90 points and made it to the play-off final, but having been consigned to a second year in the Championship, the German is already coming under pressure.

If Farke can replicate Bielsa’s success and take United back to the Premier League this season though, that will be the green light for an expanded, transformed Elland Road to finally become a reality.

Although Football League World pundit Palmer believes the Whites’ priority will be winning promotion back to the Premier League, he thinks Farke and his team will be eager to tie both players down.

Speaking to Football League World on Monday (23 September) he said: “He won’t want to lose those players for nothing, that’s for sure.

“It’s a difficult time because the season’s kicked off, but time will tell whether they trigger an extension or get their contracts extended for another year, but I am sure they’ll want to sit down and sort something out.

“In particular, you won’t want to lose someone like Firpo for free after paying £10-15m to acquire him from Barcelona. They’ve already made significant starts for Leeds United this season, but that’s the problem when you’re a manager, there’s always something ongoing or pressing.