Andrea Radrizzani’s Leeds United masterplan is to transform the club into a sustainable top eight Premier League team, according to official documents.
United have detailed their blueprint for the future in a report to Leeds City Council in which they have unveiled plans to build a new state-of-the-art training ground by 2020.
United announced on their official website that a report recommending that the council enter into formal discussions with them regarding the development of a new club training ground in the city is set to be discussed by senior councillors next week.
If it is given the green light, talks will begin about a new training ground, academy and community sports village being built on two sites close to Elland Road.
Radrizzani, who took full control of the Championship club in May, has previously spoken about moving United’s training ground back into the centre of the city as part of wider plans to develop the land around Elland Road.
The executive report explains how Leeds want to use the training centre as a platform to catapult the club into the top half of the Premier League and keep them there.
Point 3.6.1 of the document, as cited on the personal Twitter account of BBC journalist Adam Pope, reads: “Explore the potential to use the redevelopment of Elland Road and the surrounding areas as a catalyst to project Leeds United into the Premier League and become a foundation to build a brand and a business model that can sustain top eight Premier League finishes for the long term”.
The club’s proposals include turning #lufc into a sustainable top 8 Premier League side. pic.twitter.com/fIuh9sJnAz
— Adam Pope (@APOPEY) October 10, 2017
OPINION
Leeds’ overhaul continues at a dizzying pace. Change on and off the pitch has been massive since Radrizzani took sole ownership, including the £20million deal to buy back Elland Road and 16 senior summer signings. The tycoon has now sanctioned a deal for Leeds to build a state-of-the-art training headquarters to replace Thorp Arch, for which they have a lease that runs until October 2029. Supporters will be delighted at yet further proof that Radrizzani has a long-term vision to revamp a club that has trod water for the last decade-and-a-half. They will be even more pleased at his plan to establish Leeds as a top-eight Premier League club on a self-sustaining basis. This is more than just talk, as it would have been under the motley crew of previous owners. Radrizzani has not been afraid to put his money where his mouth is as he sets off on the path to return the club to their former glories.