Quality over quantity, a careful approach, more Sheffield United than Aston Villa and Rio Ferdinand’s £18m record transfer fee will be under threat.
Andrea Radrizzani set out his Premier League transfer plan for Leeds United yesterday while he waited for a meeting with one target they have for 2020/21.
Ferdinand arrived in West Yorkshire in late 2000, but his fee remains the highest the club has ever paid for a footballer.
Asked if he expected the club to break its transfer record, he said: “Yes, I think we could break it soon.”
As it stands, the Whites are obliged to pay more than £20m for Jean-Kevin Augustin from RB Leipzig after winning promotion, but that transaction is not expected to play out cleanly with neither buyer nor player especially motivated to push it through.
Last summer, the Blades and Villans were two of the three sides promoted from the Championship. The latter spent considerably more than the former, who focused on domestic arrivals.
Twelve months later and Sheffield United will finish no lower than 10th while Villa are on the verge of relegation.
“I would say we will be more similar to Sheffield United,” said Radrizzani. “It's not only about the money, it's important we keep the structure and the foundation we have built over three years.
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“You don't do all the points we have in two seasons and stay in the top-three positions for two years consecutively if you don't have a good foundation and good players, so we need to continue with this, without changing too much.
“Also, the past has shown the teams who change too much are not succeeding often and why change if we have a good, competitive team?”
Gaetano Berardi, who has learnt he will be out of action until April 2021 with a knee injury, is the only permanent contract set to expire after tomorrow’s match with Charlton Athletic.
The foundations are there for Radrizzani et al to build upon the playing roster they currently have, with loanees Illan Meslier and Jack Harrison also expected to remain.
Personality will be as important as ability for Radrizzani and Victor Orta. The owner wants to protect the identity of this current group and avoid bad apples.
“Definitely quality over quantity [with transfers],” he said. “We are very careful to identify the players with the right characteristics in the positions that we need, but also they fit the character of the players that fit in our group.
“We put as a priority to defend the spirit of this group we created. As you can see the players are united, it's very important we prioritise that in management.”
